2013 (Chicago Bears) Season Review
Record: 8-8 (2nd place NFC North)
Playoffs: N/A
Head coach: Mark Trestman
Notable Assistants: Aaron Kromer (offensive coordinator), Mel Tucker (defensive coordinator), Joe DeCamillis (special teams).
Regular Season Overview
The Bears came close to making the playoffs this year after an up and down year for the entire NFC North. The Bears actually started off the season as one of the hottest teams in the league. They opened up the year with three straight wins against the Bengals, Vikings, and Steelers. The trouble came in week four when they lost their first game to 40-32 to the Lions and the next week 26-18 to the Saints. After pulling it together in Week six against the hopeless Giants, they lost the game to the Redskins in Week seven in the NFL’s first offense versus air game 41-45. In this game they also lost their Captain quarterback Jay Cutler to a leg injury. After he went down the team could never pull everything back together.
During Cutler’s absence the team managed to go 3-2, but they ended up dropping the last two games of the season to the Eagles and Packers. But the season wasn’t all bad for the Bears. They sent players like Brandon Marshall, Matt Forte and Alshon Jeffery to the Pro bowl. These three had outstanding years for Chicago and they all earned invitations to Hawaii. For Forte and Marshall its business as usual, they came into the year expecting to be two of the top players on the Bears offense. Jeffery was a pleasant surprise as he amerged as one of the top young receivers in the league.
Biggest Win
The Bears biggest win this season actually came in week one when they beat a Bengals squad that was thought to be one of the top teams in the league this season. They edged them out by three 21-24 by scoring the game winning touchdown with four minutes to go in the fourth.
Some of the top performers this week were of course Marshall and Forte. Marshall had a great day hauling in eight catches for 108 yards and a touchdown.
Forte contributed 41 yards receiving and 50 yards and a touchdown on the ground. This win was key at the time giving the Bears a lot of momentum and confidence going into their next game. Beating a good team in a close fought game can do wonders for the moral in the locker room.
Toughest Lost
The Week 7 shootout loss to the Redskins was the toughest loss of the season. Just as beating a good team can raise the moral in the locker room, losing to a struggling team like the Redskins in a shootout can be damaging to a teams ego. Not only did Cutler go down but they lost two of their defensive leaders Lance Briggs and Charles Tillman to injury as well. WIth all these key guys out for multiple weeks the Bears lost more than the game this week. With Briggs and Tillman going down in this game the Bears defense allowed Alfred Morris, Robert Griffin III, and Roy Helu to have a field day on the ground. The secondary allowed a rookie tight end Jordan Reed to have a breakout game hauling in nine catches for 138 yards and a touchdown. This game also came down to the last couple minutes, but this time the Bears allowed the Redskins to drive 80 yards in 12 plays allowing Helu to score the winning touchdown.
Offensive MVP
Matt Forte 1,339 Rush Yards, 594 Receiving Yards, 12 Total Touchdowns
Forte is one of the most versatile backs in the league and it showed this year. He’s great running the ball between the tackles and he is one of the best in the league at creating when catching the ball out of the backfield. He has such a smooth running style that he is also one of the players anyone enjoys watching.
Defensive MVP
Major Wright 100 Total Tackles, 78 Solo, 22 Assist, 2 Forced Fumbles, 2 Interceptions
Wright was not only one of the Bears top tacklers but he was also one of the top guys when it came to forcing turnovers. Wright is still young but has been in the league long enough to be considered a veteran. He stepped up and balled hard when two main guys went down and his contributions kept the Bears into it until the very end.
Most Disappointing Player
Julius Peppers 45 Total Tackles, 31 Solo, 14 Assist, 7 Sacks
Maybe its just me, but as an elite pass rusher in the league I would think Peppers would do a lot better than seven sacks. I expect at least 10 to 14 from a player of his caliber, maybe my expectations are too high but he’s one of the best in the league, expectations will always be high.
Best Rookie
Kyle Long 16 Games Started
Long was a member of an offensive line that produced a 1,000+ yard rusher and two 1,000+ yard receivers. This offense was very productive and the offense starts and stops with the O-line. He also gets points for staying healthy as he started all 16 games this season.
Statistical Leaders
QB- Jay Cutler 2,621 Yards, 19 Touchdowns, 12 Interceptions
RB- Matt Forte 1,339 Yards, 9 Touchdowns
WR- Brandon Marshall 100 Receptions*, 1,295 Yards, 12 Touchdowns*
WR- Alshon Jeffery 89 Receptions, 1,421* Yards, 7 Touchdowns
TE- Martellus Bennett 65 Receptions, 759 Yards, 5 Touchdowns
Tackles- James Anderson 102 Total, 85 Solo, 17 Assist
Sacks- Julius Peppers 45 Total, 7 Sacks, 2 Forced Fumbles
Interceptions - Tim Jennings 57 Total Tackles, 4 Interceptions