Three Takeaways: Bears stay hot with comeback win over Giants

David Banks - USA Today Sports

Dustin Riese · Senior Writer · 2 hours ago

Well, it was far from perfect, but a win is a win for the Chicago Bears. That is something you haven't been able to say a lot over the past few seasons, as the Ben Johnson effect has been a real thing in Chicago this season. Trailing by 10 and with less than 12 minutes to go, it was the Bears finding a way to get the job done as Caleb Williams picked up a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns to lead the Bears to a 24-20 victory.

The win now gives Johnson a 4-0 record in games decided by seven points or less after the Bears went 6-18 in such games the past three seasons. This was one of those games where the weather certainly played a significant role in the overall results, but also a Giants team that came out inspired and played with a tremendous amount of energy.

Had it not been for a late-game injury to Jaxson Dart, there is a case to be made that the Giants would've been able to steal this win from the Bears, which alone would've been a tough pill to swallow. Here are some takeaways from the Bears' gritty win.

The Giants have found their franchise QB

When the Giants drafted Daniel Jones seven years ago, the idea behind it was for him to be the franchise quarterback this team has been missing since Eli Manning. There were times when he showed he could be, especially during the 2022 season, but apart from that, Jones was nothing more than a bottom-tier quarterback with the Giants, which is why he was released last season.

Since he departed from the organization, the Giants have been experimenting with the quarterback position, seeking a combination that works. Russell Wilson was supposed to be the short-term answer this season, but after three games, the Giants made the move to go with the rookie Dart.

With Dart now the starting man in New York, not only have the Giants looked like a much better team, but a team that has the pieces to make some noise next season as both Malik Nabors and Cam Skatebo are lost for the rest of this season.

You saw how dynamic Dart can be with both his arms and his leg as he gives the Giants a more polished version of what Jones was, and a player who has the makings of being the franchise guy in New York.

Drops, drops, and more drops

Even when the Bears win games, it's a far from polished product, and today was a prime example of that. Yes, the Bears are going to take the win, but this team had a chance to bury the Giants throughout the game, but constantly shot themselves in the foot.

Unlike most of their games, where penalties were the downfall, this one was all about the dropped passes, as the Bears had far too many in the game. While there may not be a direct number of drops to indicate how severe it was, if you had to make a guess, it was somewhere in the neighborhood of 10 or more drops, which is impossible.

Some of those drops were on Caleb Williams, as he did throw behind his receivers while also firing passes at what seemed like 100 MPH, when he doesn't need to throw passes that hard all the time. Even at that, it's not an excuse, as the Bears dropped far too many catchable balls that need to be caught at this level. Chicago is fortunate to come away with a win in this one.

The Bears could be in first place

This isn't necessarily a takeaway from the game, but instead a takeaway from what could happen this weekend. With their sixth win of the season, the Bears now have the most wins in the NFC North, which is an accomplishment in itself. However, should the Lions and Packers both lose this weekend, not only would the Bears have the most wins in the division, but they would also be in sole possession of first place.

That is something that hasn't happened since the 2021 season, and even then, it was a two-week stretch where the team was in first as the 2018 season was the last time they were in first place this late in the season. No matter what happens from here on out, the Bears have already surpassed their win total from last season, and with two more wins, Johnson will have won more games than Matt Eberflus did at any point in his career.