“I’ve said that since I got here,” Johnson reiterated Wednesday, a day after the Bears gave him permission to seek a trade that never materialized before Tuesday’s deadline.

Bears general manager Ryan Poles would love to keep Johnson as part of the team’s core as he tries to build a championship contender at Halas Hall. Poles’ big-picture stance hasn’t changed either.

“I don’t want to lose Jaylon Johnson,” he said.

Yet the means for those wishes to become reality is a contract extension that hasn’t materialized through a negotiating process that has been slower and clunkier than either side wants.

Johnson sees himself as one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL and wants to be rewarded accordingly with his second contract. Poles, meanwhile, has stressed business discipline throughout his time as GM, working hard not to wander far beyond the financial boundaries he and his front office set when valuing players.

The result? A contractual staring contest with an obvious disconnect between what the Bears are willing to pay Johnson and what the cornerback and his camp believe he is worth.

Poles explained his desire to find “a sweet spot” and asserted that an in-person meeting Sunday in Los Angeles with Johnson’s agent, Christopher Ellison, went well.

“I thought we made progress,” Poles said. “I texted my group and said, ‘We’ll be able to get this deal done in a matter of days.’”

But when the Bears returned from Los Angeles, Ellison and Johnson expressed a desire to explore a trade. That’s why, in a bit of a surprising twist, Poles granted Johnson that permission and why Johnson thought he might wake up Wednesday as part of a new organization.

“That’s the respect I have for Jaylon,” Poles said. “It’s like, ‘If that’s in your heart that you want to go check that out, go check that out and see what comes back.’”

Poles, naturally, set the bar high for trade talks.

“If I were to lose Jaylon Johnson, I would like to have a high-percentage (chance) of hitting on another Jaylon Johnson,” he said. “Which to me is a late first- or early second-(round) draft pick. That didn’t happen.

“So we are still open to getting a contract done. And I’m going to follow Jaylon’s lead on how he wants to go about doing that.”

With nine games remaining in the fourth and final season of Johnson’s rookie deal, the next step in this process will play out with Johnson having plenty of motivation for the next 2 1/2 months.

“Just want to continue to stack the season and build my resume the best I can,” Johnson said. “I have some personal goals I want to achieve. And then from there, we’ll figure that (contract stuff) out when that time comes.”

Johnson was asked if, given the way negotiations with the Bears have transpired, he is now eager to hit free agency when his rookie deal expires in March. He smiled and nodded.

“One hundred percent,” he said.

What remains unknown is where the Bears have set their value on Johnson compared with how the cornerback values himself. Johnson emphasized Wednesday that he and his camp haven’t been outlandish with their requests.

“I’m not asking to change the market or break records,” Johnson said. “But I’m also not just going to take anything. Like, ‘OK, you deem me as this so I’m this.’ No, I’m not just going to take one man’s word and put that viewpoint on myself.”

Johnson said Tuesday’s experience — with his agent able to speak with other teams about possible contract terms if a potential trade had materialized — gave him conviction that his financial goals aren’t unreasonable.

Asked whether his camp’s talks with other teams presented a contract assessment that was fundamentally different from what the Bears have offered, Johnson said, “In some cases, yes, sir.”

Poles countered that while the Bears have extended potential contract offers, neither side has presented a final offer.

“That’s why we met in LA,” Poles said. “We were (trying) to close the gap and figure out where to go next.”

Johnson, a second-round pick by the Bears in 2020, made the second and third interceptions of his career in a win over the Las Vegas Raiders two weeks ago. He hopes to add to that total while establishing himself as one of the game’s best pass defenders.

He has drawn praise from the Bears coaching staff all season for his coverage ability and improved tackling.

“I’ve been playing high-level football all year,” Johnson said. “Nothing for me is going to change. My attitude isn’t going to change. Me being who I am isn’t going to change. At the end of the day, me doing what I need to do helps the Bears as well.”

Johnson also has zoomed out to understand Poles’ perspective from the GM’s chair.

“This whole situation is interesting,” Johnson said. “It’s easy to take everything personally. At the end of the day, Ryan has his family to feed. Ryan has people he answers to. I feel like have to, in a sense, respect that.

“What I view for myself is what I view for myself. And how he views me is for him and what’s best for this organization. I don’t take any of it personally.”

Still, nothing has progressed to satisfy Johnson or Poles. And at this stage, it’s not easy to predict the ultimate resolution.

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“I’m still trying to figure out where I’m going to lay my head at tonight,” Sweat said.

So the new Bears defensive end will have to be excused for still figuring out what it’s going to take for the Bears to sign him to a contract extension.

It’s one of the most relevant questions for the Bears after general manager Ryan Poles traded a 2024 second-round draft pick to the Washington Commanders on Tuesday to acquire Sweat, who is in the final year of his rookie contract. In order to make that investment in draft capital worth it, the Bears obviously want Sweat for more than nine games.

Poles said the Bears are working to make a deal with Sweat. He didn’t have a timeline for when it might be completed but said he was hopeful “it won’t take too long.” The Bears also will have the franchise and transition tags available this offseason if a contract doesn’t come to fruition.

“I feel really confident that we can get a deal done,” Poles said.

Sweat, a former Commanders first-round pick who has 35 1/2 career sacks in 67 games since 2019, said financial security and the people and teammates around him would be important factors in where he signs his next contract.

He said he was sure his agents were talking to the Bears about working something out. But for Wednesday, Sweat still was trying to get his bearings in Lake Forest.

“Everything is happening kind of fast right now,” he said. “I’m just waiting for it to slow down and hit the ground running when we get there.”

Poles called the 6-foot-6, 262-pound Sweat “a long, fast, explosive, relentless defensive end that can help us both in the run and in the pass game.” He said Sweat is “a multiplier,” the type of player who makes everybody else on the defense better.

“Hopefully he comes in and continues to be that dog that he’s shown over the years,” cornerback Jaylon Johnson said of Sweat. “Get some tipped passes that maybe fall my way or get the QB to throw the ball off target a little bit, allow it to fall in my hands.”

Sweat joins a Bears pass rush in desperate need of a boost after totaling an NFL-low 10 sacks through eight games.

After examining the upcoming options in free agency and the draft, the Bears saw the acquisition as getting ahead of a competitive market.

“If you look at the free agent stack now, it’s going to look very different by the time you get to that point of the year because there are so many different opportunities that can pop up in terms of extensions, tags, different things like that,” Poles said. “So we decided with that type of player we wanted to capitalize on that now.”

It was the second time in two years Poles traded a second-round draft pick for a player at the midseason deadline.

Last year’s trade, when Poles sent what would become the No. 32 overall pick to the Pittsburgh Steelers for wide receiver Chase Claypool, obviously was a bust. The Bears traded Claypool to the Miami Dolphins after less than a year with the team.

Poles said he learned from the Claypool situation. But he also didn’t let it affect his thinking with Sweat, who is more established than Claypool was and already has 6 1/2 sacks, 11 quarterback hits, two forced fumbles and 10 tackles for a loss in eight games this year.

“If (the moves) fail or you make mistakes, you look back at why and address those,” Poles said. “The key is that sometimes you become a little bit shy to make aggressive moves as you go forward. That’s not how we’re wired. I took a lot of those things from that situation and kind of went through that process and said, ‘OK, here’s where we may have messed up this.’ Then for this one, it’s not making the same mistake.”

In the days before the deadline, Sweat had seen the rumors swirling about potentially being traded. His agent told him the Atlanta Falcons were among the teams interested in acquiring him, and as someone who’s from Georgia, it was “a place of interest.”

“Obviously they wanted me,” Sweat said. “Here they wanted me more, so this is where I am.”

Sweat was heading to a Commanders walk-through Tuesday when he received the call from his agent. He said there were “a lot of emotions” as he prepared to leave his only NFL home, in part because of the relationships he built.

“I mean you’ve got to pick up shop and find a new home,” Sweat said. “So there’s a lot of emotions that come with that, but I’m ready for the challenge. I’m ready to meet my new teammates and hit the ground rolling.”

In the short term, Sweat said he believes he will play Sunday against the New Orleans Saints, a possibility coach Matt Eberflus left up in the air.

As for the long term, Sweat didn’t delve into how much leverage he has over the Bears in contract talks given the draft capital they gave up to acquire him.

“I don’t really know too much about leverage and all that type of stuff,” he said. “I just want to consider everything around me before I make a decision.”

()

Meanwhile, five starters — left tackle Ronnie Stanley, right tackle Morgan Moses, running back Gus Edwards, wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. and outside linebacker Odafe Oweh — did not participate in the portion of practice open to reporters. Reserve cornerback Rock Ya-Sin was also absent.

The Ravens’ first injury report of the week will come out later than usual, because the Seattle Seahawks did not begin practice until late afternoon, but coach John Harbaugh indicated none of the missing players are dealing with serious issues.

“Nothing really to report that’s concerning that way,” he said after practice. “As it goes along in the week, you’ll kind of see it unfold that way.”

Harbaugh said Monday his team came out of its win over the Arizona Cardinals without any major injuries. Beckham suffered a chest contusion but returned to finish the game. Oweh, who has been dealing with an ankle injury most of the season, also went to the blue medical tent to be treated but returned to action. Moses ceded some snaps to Patrick Mekari, but Harbaugh said that was more about managing the veteran lineman’s workload.

In addition to Williams, defensive back Daryl Worley (shoulder) returned to practice, starting his 21-day window to return from injured reserve.

Williams said he’s not frustrated by the hamstring and pectoral injuries that have kept him out much of this season. “I feel good,” he said, though he added “we’ll see what happens” when asked if he expects to play against the Seahawks.

This story will be updated.

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Eberflus described the culture he has been trying to establish for almost two years in Lake Forest as “awesome,” asserted that the last-place Bears are “turning a corner” and, on multiple occasions, pointed to the team’s .500 record over the last month as evidence they have legitimate reasons to feel encouraged and optimistic.

But that messaging might not resonate with most of an outside audience that has watched the Bears continually stumble on the field — they are 5-20 under Eberflus — while experiencing repeated tumult behind the scenes, the most recent being Wednesday’s sudden firing of running backs coach David Walker for what is believed to be concerning misconduct.

“As the head coach,” Eberflus said, “we are building a program and have standards to uphold as a staff and organization both on and off the field. And those standards were not met.”

Eberflus said the decision to fire Walker was made after he consulted with and gained the support of general manager Ryan Poles and team President Kevin Warren.

“It’s disappointing from my vantage point,” Eberflus said. “But we have a standard to uphold. When that standard is not met, we act accordingly. And that’s what we did today.”

Added Poles: “We have expectations here. Those come from me, Kevin, George (McCaskey) and Matt. If you don’t meet those expectations with how you move around this building, how you treat people, how you talk to people and how you act, you don’t belong here.”

Walker is the second member of Eberflus’ staff to exit Halas Hall in the last six weeks following the abrupt late-September resignation of defensive coordinator Alan Williams, whose departure from the organization, according to multiple sources, was conduct-related.

With so much failure on the field and so much instability in the coaching ranks, does Eberflus believe there is a culture problem with his team? “Absolutely not,” he said. “The culture in our building is outstanding. The guys work hard every single day. The relationship piece is there. We care about each other. We’re working diligently to get this thing turned (around).

“We’re 2-2 in our last four (games). One game (against the Vikings) was real close. We had a chance at that one. We really feel we’re turning the corner and we are excited about this week. But to answer the question, our culture is awesome.”

The Bears remain in last place in the NFC North and are coming off a 30-13 blowout loss on “Sunday Night Football” to the Los Angeles Chargers. That was the team’s third loss this season by at least 15 points and the ninth during Eberflus’ tenure.

The Bears hired Walker to coach their running backs in early February 2022, less than two weeks after Eberflus came aboard as head coach. Walker had been out of coaching for the previous three seasons with his most recent NFL stop coming with the Detroit Lions from 2016-18.

Now 53, Walker was in his ninth season as an NFL assistant with his first such gig coming with the Indianapolis Colts from 2011-14.

After leading the NFL in rushing a year ago — propelled largely by an explosive 1,143-yard season from quarterback Justin Fields — the Bears rank sixth this season, averaging 132.8 rushing yards per game.

Still, Eberflus dodged direct questions Wednesday about whether Walker’s removal was for behavioral reasons and not connected to his football coaching ability.

Eberflus was later asked about his vetting process for hiring coaches.

“The evaluation process is what it is,” Eberflus said. “You make your phone calls. You do your due diligence. You bring them in for an interview. You have phone conversations. You ask people who are associated and so forth and so on. So that’s that.”

With Walker gone, Omar Young will oversee the running backs. Young, who is in his second season with the Bears, was an offensive quality control coach in 2022 and transitioned into being an assistant quarterbacks and receivers coach this year.

This has been another rocky ride for the Bears with a couple of October victories hardly enough to offset the team’s dispiriting 0-4 start.

The Bears were trounced 38-20 by the rival Green Bay Packers to open the season at Soldier Field. Two weeks later, they trailed the Kansas City Chiefs 41-0 midway through the third quarter in an eventual 31-point loss. And in Week 4, they blew a 28-3 lead at home in a 31-28 loss to the Denver Broncos.

The Bears’ two wins, meanwhile, were against the Washington Commanders and Las Vegas Raiders, a pair of teams experiencing their own turbulence.

The Commanders held a fire sale before the league’s trade deadline Tuesday, dealing away defensive ends Montez Sweat and Chase Young and backup quarterback Jacoby Brissett. And the Raiders, coming off consecutive losses to the Bears and Detroit Lions, fired general manager Dave Ziegler and coach Josh McDaniels late Tuesday.

Still, Eberflus was clinging to positives Wednesday, expressing confidence in the improvement of his defense, the reliability of the running game on offense and the Bears’ ability to secure a Week 7 win over the Raiders with starting quarterback Justin Fields injured and rookie Tyson Bagent starting in his place.

“The guys are positive, upbeat and looking forward to New Orleans,” Eberflus said.

Poles, meanwhile, continued to express his unwavering belief in Eberflus as a leader.

“What I see every day when I see him address the team and when I see his approach to adversity, it is stable,” Poles said. “I know to the outside world, it doesn’t look like that. And I know it looks like we’re far away. But this dude comes in every day and just keeps chipping away. … The way he holds everything down here is incredible for how loud it is, how tough it is.

“This team, you watch them and they fight. I know this past weekend wasn’t great. But you can’t watch that team and be like, ‘Oh, they’re going to fold.’ ”

Still, with Walker’s firing affecting the building and overshadowing the trade for Sweat, Eberflus acknowledged the sullen mood.

“We’re all disappointed,” he said. “It’s never good when this has to happen. Certainly a disappointment. But I do know this, adversity does make you stronger in your personal life, in your team life. It’s just how you come through it. It’s how you respond to it.”

More Bears news

• Column: Bears GM Ryan Poles assumed risk in Montez Sweat trade, but free agency and the draft make it a worthy gamble
• Cornerback Jaylon Johnson stays with the Bears despite a late request before the NFL trade deadline
• Bears can’t make it 2 wins in a row — again: Brad Biggs’ 10 thoughts on the Week 8 loss to the Chargers
• Column: When will the NFL and TV networks learn to stop putting the Bears in prime time?
• Vikings trade for QB Joshua Dobbs, adding another option after Kirk Cousins’ season-ending Achilles injury
• True or false: The Tyson Bagent fairy tale has reached the end for the Bears after a shaky Week 8 performance
• How QB Tyson Bagent rose from zero-star recruit to Division II record-breaker to Bears rookie starter

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Bill Belichick pacing another sideline in another team’s colors, sneering and snorting at another team’s press conferences after 24 years in New England.

Then again, so was a 2-6 start to this season.

And a sub.-500 record for Belichick over a three-and-a half-year span.

And a Belichick-coached team ever sitting last in the AFC, having committed the second-most penalties in the league with the NFL’s third-worst turnover margin.

Yet, here we are.

The Patriots are a bad football team. Their roster is starved for blue-chip talent and a quarterback of the future. Belichick hand-picked every person in his locker room, front office and coaching ranks. He is responsible for everything.

If the Pats continue charging toward a 4-13 or 5-12 finish, it only reasons the door could swing open for Belichick to leave this January. Few NFL coaches or GMs survive a four-year run with a 45% winning percentage, let alone when that person is one and the same. Robert Kraft cleaning house has crossed the minds of multiple folks working in football operations with more than half a season left.

Whether Kraft turns the knob, Belichick kicks the door down himself or they agree to a mutual parting of ways, it’s believed Belichick will not go gentle into that good night of retirement. Reports have long indicated Belichick is committed to, perhaps even hellbent on, breaking Don Shula’s record for most coaching wins all-time. He’s 17 wins away from leaping Shula.

Perhaps more to the point, Belichick is someone raised in a film room who’s spent 49 of his 71 years on Earth coaching NFL football. Life, as Belichick knows it, needs football as much as water or oxygen.

The question is: could Belichick leave for the Patriots’ next opponent?

The Commanders should offer a cozy landing spot, even if only for the two years Belichick may need to seize his record. Washington is under a new ownership group led by 76ers co-owner and managing partner Josh Harris. That group is flashing all the usual signs of new owner behavior.

First, they make a public effort to ingratiate themselves with fans. Next comes spending unholy gobs of money. Washington is scheduled to have the fourth-most cap space in the league this spring, after off-loading top pass rushers Chase Young and Montez Sweat before Tuesday’s trade deadline.

Bill Belichick dodges on Patriots’ inactivity at NFL trade deadline

Once the offseason hits, it's another safe bet Harris and Co. will advance to step three: hiring their own people. Ron Rivera is seven games below .500 in his three-plus years as Washington's head coach. Third-year general manager Martin Mayhew doesn't have a standout draft class on his resume.

Belichick could fill both jobs with one signature and instantly restore the Commanders to relevancy. No other coach or GM can offer that. Belichick would represent the ultimate big splash, and new owners love nothing, nothing more than stealing headlines and soaking the competition. (See: the new-look Broncos signing Sean Payton.)

What about Belichick's contract?

Since the NFL Network reported that Belichick signed a new deal this spring, insiders from ESPN to Sports Illustrated have thrown water on the idea that it represents an ironclad commitment between coach and team.  NBC Sports Boston's Tom Curran reported the only known detail about the contract, saying it runs through 2024. If true, Belichick's future in that sense is no more guaranteed than any other losing head coach's, given NFL teams rarely, if ever, allow coaches to enter a contract year.

Bill O’Brien offers blunt assessment of disappointing Patriots offense

Even if Belichick's deal becomes an obstacle, financially or otherwise, the Patriots could always trade him. Washington just added two valuable draft picks at the deadline. An ownership group that dropped more than $6 billion to buy the team won't let money stand in the way.

As a Maryland native, Belichick would also return home. He could rehire old pal Josh McDaniels to run his offense and bring sons Steve and Brian to fill out his defensive staff. Belichick is well aware of Washington's storied history, having coached against the then Redskins for more than a decade when he was a Giants assistant in the 1980s.

Asked about that history Wednesday, Belichick spent a curious amount of his time discussing ownership.

"George Preston Marshall bought the team, moved it to Washington, had it a long time. Sold it to (Jack Kent) Cooke. Cooke won three Super Bowls with (Joe) Gibbs. (Daniel) Snyder bought it, and they’ve rebranded in the last couple years. It’s one of the older franchises in the league, I don’t know," he said.

Of course, the Commanders are among several teams that could entertain coaching changes this offseason, including one that's already pulled the trigger. They are: the Jets, Raiders, Browns, Chargers, Buccaneers and Bears.

Belichick isn't packing up for New York or Cleveland again. He's not following Brady's shadow in Tampa or Brady to Las Vegas, where his former top lieutenant got canned after 25 games. The Chargers' ownership is famously cheap and dysfunctional. Chicago could appeal, though the Bears' are only in Year 2 with their new head coach and GM.

That leaves only the Commanders. Stretch your imagination. Picture it again.

Can't you see it?

Wide receiver DeVante Parker (concussion) and left tackle Trent Brown (ankle/knee) were held out with new injuries. The Pats also hit the field without backup tight end Pharaoh Brown and offensive tackle Calvin Anderson. Linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley was severely limited with a hurt hamstring.

Defensive back Myles Bryant also has a new chest injury.

In Washington, the Commanders rested defensive lineman Jonathan Allen and sidelined wide receiver Curtis Samuel due to his toe injury.

Both teams’ complete injury reports are below.

PATRIOTS

Did not participate

WR DeVante Parker, Concussion

OT Trent Brown, Ankle/Knee

TE Pharaoh Brown,

OL Calvin Anderson, Illness

Limited participation

LB Ja’Whaun Bentley, Hamstring

DL Christian Barmore, Knee

LB Josh Uche, Ankle/Toe

DL Deatrich Wise Jr., Shoulder

CB Jonathan Jones, Knee

DB Myles Bryant, Chest

OL Vederian Lowe, Ankle

COMMANDERS

Did not participate

DT Jonathan Allen, Vet Rest

CB Kendall Fuller, Vet Rest

WR Curtis Samuel, Toe

C Ricky Stromberg, Knee

Limited participation

S Percy Butler, Calf

TE Logan Thomas, Heel

Brown played through ankle and knee injuries in last Sunday’s loss at Miami, where Parker took a blow to the head and did not return. Brown also missed the start of practice last week, but returned the following day and hasn’t missed a game this season.

Offensive tackle Calvin Anderson and tight end Pharaoh Brown were also absent Wednesday. Linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley jogged lightly on the field, but did not engage in any individual drills. He left in the second quarter of Sunday’s loss with a hamstring injury.

The Patriots will release their first injury report of the week Wednesday evening.

Here are the rankings heading into Week 9:

1. Philadelphia Eagles (7-1, No. 2)

Last week: Win vs. Commanders, 38-31

Up next: vs. Cowboys

The Eagles needed three straight touchdowns in the fourth quarter to finally pull away, but they once again proved their mettle. It helps to have Jalen Hurts and A.J. Brown, who connected for two touchdown passes to help cover for a defense that allowed 26 first downs and 6.8 yards per play. Brown has blossomed into a superstar in Philly, becoming the first player in NFL history with 125-plus receiving yards in six consecutive games. All eyes will be on the status of Hurts’ injured knee heading into an intriguing matchup against Dallas.

2. Kansas City Chiefs (6-2, No. 1)

Last week: Loss vs. Broncos, 24-9

Up next: vs. Dolphins in Germany

Was that clunker in Denver just a bad day or a cause for concern? Dealing with flu-like symptoms, Patrick Mahomes had one of his worst performances in a Chiefs uniform, throwing two interceptions and failing to record a touchdown pass for the first time since Dec. 5, 2021. The lack of receiving talent around tight end Travis Kelce is more glaring than ever, and Kansas City was only able to muster 62 rushing yards. Once in the driver’s seat, the Chiefs now find themselves in a crowded race for the top seed in the AFC.

3. Ravens (6-2, No. 3)

Last week: Win vs. Cardinals, 31-24

Up next: vs. Seahawks

The win in Arizona was a Rorschach test for the Ravens’ Super Bowl hopes. Did Lamar Jackson’s uneven performance against the Cardinals’ drop coverage reveal a blueprint for potential playoff opponents? Is Gus Edwards good enough to carry the running game down the stretch? Should Baltimore be concerned by the lack of production from free agent receivers Odell Beckham Jr. and Nelson Agholor? Is the defense vulnerable to lapses against inferior opponents? Just how good is a secondary that must continue to rely on Geno Stone and Brandon Stephens? There’s little doubt the Ravens have been playing well enough to be considered a title contender, but general manager Eric DeCosta is making a big bet on this group by not making any meaningful additions at the trade deadline.

4. Miami Dolphins (5-2, No. 5)

Last week: Win vs. Patriots, 31-17

Up next: vs. Chiefs in Germany

When the Dolphins’ stars are shining, they’re hard to beat. Tua Tagovailoa leads the league with 2,416 passing yards, Tyreek Hill is the first player in the Super Bowl era to top 1,000 receiving yards through eight games and cornerback Jalen Ramsey intercepted a pass in his team debut, helping push Miami to 6-2 for the first time since 2001. When left tackle Terron Armstead comes back and the offensive line gets closer to full strength, the Dolphins could look even better.

5. Dallas Cowboys (5-2, No. 6)

Last week: Win vs. Rams, 43-20

Up next: at Eagles

When everything clicks, the Cowboys sure are impressive. Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb torched the Rams’ defense, while DaRon Bland recorded his NFL-leading third pick-six and Micah Parsons wreaked havoc in the backfield. Dallas also excelled on special teams, with Sam Williams blocking a punt for a safety and KaVontae Turpin returning the ensuing kick 63 yards. The Cowboys failed their first big test in a blowout loss to the 49ers, but they’ll get the chance to prove themselves this week against Philadelphia.

6. Jacksonville Jaguars (6-2, No. 7)

Last week: Win vs. Steelers, 20-10

Up next: Bye

The Jaguars have been far from dominant, but they haven’t started the season 6-2 since 1999. Winning ugly in Pittsburgh is almost a rite of passage for any AFC contender, and Jacksonville accomplished that despite turning the ball over on two of its three trips inside the red zone. The Jaguars are expected to get four injured starters back after the bye week, which will be crucial in keeping pace in a tight conference race.

7. San Francisco 49ers (5-3, No. 4)

Last week: Loss vs. Bengals, 31-17

Up next: Bye

Make that three straight losses for the team that topped these rankings just three weeks ago. Poor defense and costly mistakes on offense have been a toxic mix, as quarterback Brock Purdy committed three turnovers in the second half Sunday while Joe Burrow ruthlessly picked the 49ers’ secondary apart. When Purdy is outgaining Christian McCaffrey on the ground, you know something is wrong. Perhaps the addition of Commanders defensive end Chase Young will help reignite a pass rush that has curiously struggled to record sacks despite boasting a surplus of talent up front.

8. Buffalo Bills (5-3, No. 8)

Last week: Win vs. Buccaneers, 24-18

Up next: at Bengals

Don’t forget about the Bills. While Buffalo teetered on the edge of disaster in recent weeks, it rebounded well Thursday night behind a solid performance on both sides of the ball. Josh Allen’s right shoulder injury didn’t seem to bother him too much, and Khalil Shakir might have announced himself as the third receiver the Bills have been looking for. Buffalo also addressed a glaring weak spot at the deadline, acquiring veteran cornerback Rasul Douglas from the Packers after being forced to rely on practice squad call-up Josh Norman.

9. Detroit Lions (6-2, No. 9)

Last week: Win vs. Raiders, 26-14

Up next: Bye

The Lions quickly put a humbling loss behind them and showed maturity in finishing off the Raiders on Monday night. Three Detroit turnovers, including a pick-six by Marcus Peters to pull Las Vegas within two points in the fourth quarter, and a 1-for-5 performance in the red zone kept the Lions from running up the score as they piled up 486 yards and allowed just 157. Six sacks, including two from defensive tackle Alim McNeill, continued a strong start to the season for the defense. The addition of Browns wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones is also a nice swing for a team that could use a big body on the outside.

10. Seattle Seahawks (5-2, No. 12)

Last week: Win vs. Browns, 24-20

Up next: at Ravens

If not for an interception that deflected off safety Jamal Adams’ helmet with 1:57 remaining Sunday, the Seahawks might have suffered a regrettable defeat. But thanks to that play and some great throws from Geno Smith on Seattle’s final drive, the Seahawks have a half-game lead in the NFC West. There were enough struggles on offense and some disappointing moments from the defense Sunday to feel uncertain about Seattle’s division title prospects, but given the state of the NFC, this team might already be a playoff lock.

11. Cincinnati Bengals (4-3, No. 11)

Last week: Win vs. 49ers, 31-17

Up next: vs. Bills

Welcome back, Joe Burrow. The Bengals star quarterback finished 28-for-32 — including 19 straight completions at one point — for 283 yards and three touchdowns to lead a dominant win over what’s still considered one of the best teams in the league. It was a far cry from Burrow’s statuesque performances as he dealt with a calf injury during Cincinnati’s 1-3 start. Don’t overlook the Bengals’ ground game, either, which helped make play-action passes from under center — something Burrow said he worked hard on all offseason — more effective.

12. Cleveland Browns (4-3, No. 10)

Last week: Loss vs. Seahawks, 24-20

Up next: vs. Cardinals

Given the mix of talent and potential, this might be the most frustrating team in the league. The lack of clarity with quarterback Deshaun Watson, both in his ability and his availability, has created an awkward situation that has threatened to derail the season and coach Kevin Stefanski’s tenure. Backup P.J. Walker, who has just one touchdown pass and five interceptions in three games, is simply not good enough. Even if Watson does come back from his shoulder injury soon, it might be a while before we know whether Cleveland is truly a playoff contender.

13. Los Angeles Chargers (3-4, No. 21)

Last week: Win vs. Bears, 30-13

Up next: at Jets

With a healthy Justin Herbert, the Chargers are dangerous. Playing without a glove for the first time since fracturing the middle finger on his left hand in Week 4, Herbert completed his first 15 passes and led Los Angeles to points on each of its first five drives in a dominant win. Austin Ekeler led the team in receiving yards, and rookie Quentin Johnston even got involved. There’s still a long way to go, but the Chargers have kept their playoff hopes alive.

14. Pittsburgh Steelers (4-3, No. 13)

Last week: Loss vs. Jaguars, 20-10

Up next: vs. Titans

Injuries to quarterback Kenny Pickett (ribs) and safety Minkah Fitzpatrick (hamstring) don’t bode well for a team that has been winning by the slimmest of margins all season. While Pittsburgh’s defense has been good enough to keep the team in every game, it must be even better if the offense has to rely on backup quarterback Mitch Trubisky and an ineffective running game.

15. New Orleans Saints (4-4, No. 23)

Last week: Win vs. Colts, 38-27

Up next: vs. Bears

Now we know how good the Saints offense can be. Derek Carr hit several long passes to Rashid Shaheed, Michael Thomas and Chris Olave as New Orleans averaged 17.7 yards per reception and recorded 511 total yards, its most since 2020. Taysom Hill, at the right moments, remains an effective weapon. After hitting a rough patch, the Saints are still tied for first in the NFC South.

16. Atlanta Falcons (4-4, No. 15)

Last week: Loss vs. Titans, 28-23

Up next: vs. Vikings

While the Falcons have been saying all the right things when it comes to Desmond Ridder, we might have seen the beginning of a quarterback change Sunday. After Ridder was sacked five times and lost his sixth fumble of the season, he was replaced by Taylor Heinicke, who finished 12 of 21 for 175 yards and a touchdown as Atlanta scored 20 second-half points. Given a division title is within reach, the Falcons can’t be too patient with their second-year quarterback.

17. New York Jets (4-3, No. 19)

Last week: Win vs. Giants, 13-10 (OT)

Up next: vs. Chargers

The Jets snatched victory from the jaws of defeat Sunday, as a missed 35-yard field goal attempt by the Giants’ Graham Gano with 28 seconds left gave Zach Wilson enough time to complete two long passes to set up the game-tying field goal at the end of regulation. Wilson then helped lead the Jets down the field on their first possession of overtime — aided by a pass interference penalty — before Greg Zuerlein kicked the game-winning 33-yarder. It was an ugly win that featured a combined 24 punts, 15 penalties and four third-down conversions on 34 attempts, but it puts the Jets above .500 as they await the potential return of Aaron Rodgers.

18. Minnesota Vikings (4-4, No. 14)

Last week: Win vs. Packers, 24-10

Up next: at Falcons

Kirk Cousins’ time in Minnesota might be over. The 35-year-old quarterback reportedly suffered a torn Achilles tendon in Sunday’s win, and his contract voids at the end of the season. The Vikings must now hang their playoff hopes on Joshua Dobbs, who was acquired at the trade deadline after an up-and-down stint as the Cardinals’ starter.

19. Tennessee Titans (3-4, No. 25)

Last week: Win vs. Falcons, 28-23

Up next: vs. Vikings

The Titans might have their answer at quarterback. Rookie Will Levis threw four touchdown passes in his NFL debut, and while many of those deep throws required plenty of luck, the former Kentucky star gives the offense some much-needed juice. It helps to have DeAndre Hopkins on the receiving end, too. How Levis plays in a short week against a strong Steelers defense will help answer some questions about his potential.

20. Houston Texans (3-4, No. 17)

Last week: Loss vs. Panthers, 15-13

Up next: vs. Buccaneers

After a blazing start, rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud has cooled off recently, which first-year coach DeMeco Ryans said is the result of defenses seeing more film of the Ohio State star and making adjustments. How the No. 2 overall pick adjusts himself will be the most interesting storyline to watch for the rest of Houston’s season.

21. Los Angeles Rams (3-5, No. 16)

Last week: Loss vs. Cowboys, 43-20

Up next: at Packers

The Rams’ season hinges on the health of quarterback Matthew Stafford, who has an ulnar collateral ligament sprain in his right thumb and is day to day. But he hasn’t been very effective when he does play, completing just 59.7% of his passes and ranking 24th in passer rating. Coach Sean McVay will need to work some magic to keep this team afloat.

22. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-4, No. 18)

Last week: Loss vs. Bills, 24-18

Up next: at Texans

Three straight losses have quickly overshadowed a strong start for Tampa Bay. An ineffective rushing attack has put too much on the shoulders of Baker Mayfield, who hasn’t been good enough to elevate the offense by himself. The Bucs have averaged just 16.3 points per game, which ranks 26th in the league.

23. Denver Broncos (3-5, No. 24)

Last week: Win vs. Chiefs, 24-9

Up next: Bye

It might have felt like it at times, but this is far from the worst team in the league. Ending a 16-game losing streak against the Chiefs could be a turning point for Denver, which might have found a winning formula behind running back Javonte Williams and an effective ground game. Maybe Russell Wilson is turning the corner, too.

24. Indianapolis Colts (3-5, No. 20)

Last week: Loss vs. Saints, 38-27

Up next: at Panthers

While the Colts offense has been surprisingly good with backup quarterback Gardner Minshew, his nine turnovers in four starts have been costly. And as promising as first-year coach Shane Steichen has been as the offensive play-caller, his unwillingness to rely on a running game that averaged 6.8 yards per carry Sunday was puzzling. Jonathan Taylor had just one carry after rushing for 94 yards in the first half, while Minshew finished with 41 pass attempts.

25. Washington Commanders (3-5, No. 22)

Last week: Loss vs. Eagles, 38-31

Up next: at Patriots

The Commanders are clearly thinking long term, for better or worse. After coming up just short against the Eagles, they traded a pair of promising pass rushers, sending Montez Sweat to the Bears for a 2024 second-round pick and Chase Young to the 49ers for a 2024 compensatory third-round selection. Washington now has nine draft picks next year, including five in the first three rounds. It’s smart business, considering both players are pending free agents, but it’s certainly disappointing to give up on the season this early.

26. Las Vegas Raiders (3-5, No. 29)

Last week: Loss vs. Lions, 26-14

Up next: vs. Giants

The return of Jimmy Garoppolo was not enough to lift the Raiders offense, as he finished 10 of 21 for 126 yards and an interception while taking six sacks. Davante Adams had just one catch on seven targets, and Jakobi Meyers had just one reception on the only pass thrown his way. The defense led by Maxx Crosby is competing hard, but that effort is being wasted. The disappointing start has cost coach Josh McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler their jobs.

27. Chicago Bears (2-6, No. 26)

Last week: Loss vs. Chargers, 30-13

Up next: at Saints

While backup quarterback Tyson Bagent and the Bears’ rushing attack could not get much going on offense, it was the defense that was a much bigger disappointment. Chicago did not force a punt until the middle of the third quarter and allowed the Chargers to convert on 7 of 12 third downs. According to ESPN, the Bears did not generate pressure on 30 of Herbert’s 40 dropbacks. Perhaps the addition of Sweat will boost the pass rush, though it’s a curious trade considering he could be a half-season rental.

28. New England Patriots (2-6, No. 27)

Last week: Loss vs. Dolphins, 31-17

Up next: vs. Commanders

Given how badly Mac Jones has struggled this season, it seems likely the Patriots will be drafting a quarterback in April. New England is on pace to have a top-five pick, something it hasn’t done since taking defensive end Willie McGinest at No. 4 overall in 1994.

29. Green Bay Packers (2-5, No. 31)

Last week: Loss vs. Vikings, 24-10

Up next: vs. Rams

Maybe surrounding Jordan Love with the league’s youngest group of pass catchers wasn’t such a good idea. The first-year starter has looked overwhelmed during a four-game losing streak, throwing four touchdown passes to seven interceptions. The defense has been equally disappointing, ranking 28th in efficiency according to FTN Fantasy’s DVOA.

30. New York Giants (2-6, No. 28)

Last week: Loss vs. Jets, 13-10 (OT)

Up next: at Raiders

Nobody expected Tyrod Taylor and Tommy DeVito to be leading the offense, but recording minus-9 passing yards in an NFL game is embarrassing, no matter the circumstances. The Giants rank last in the league in scoring, averaging 11.2 points per game, and don’t seem to have any answers. After receiving a new contract this season, Daniel Jones must prove he’s capable of lifting the offense out of this rut.

31. Carolina Panthers (1-6, No. 32)

Last week: Win vs. Texans, 15-13

Up next: vs. Colts

Bryce Young picked a good time to deliver his best game as a pro, as the No. 1 overall pick helped deliver Carolina’s first fourth-quarter comeback since 2018. Rumblings about Stroud being the better option began after the No. 2 pick’s strong start to the season, but Young showed enough growth Sunday to feel good about the direction of the franchise.

32. Arizona Cardinals (1-7, No. 30)

Last week: Loss vs. Ravens, 31-24

Up next: at Browns

The real season might be about to start for Arizona. Coach Jonathan Gannon said Monday there’s a chance Kyler Murray could start this week as the star quarterback gets set to return from ACL surgery. The only fair evaluation of this team should come with Murray under center, but it could take a while for him to get back on track as he adjusts to a new group of players and coaches.

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McDaniels and Ziegler left the Patriots for Las Vegas in Jan. 2022 and lasted just a season and a half together. The last time McDaniels was fired as a head coach in 2010, he spent one season working outside of New England, then returned for a second stint starting in the 2011 playoffs. He was later promoted back to his old post as offensive coordinator, where he remained for the next 10 years.

So could McDaniels return for a third stint?

Bill Belichick deflected when asked about McDaniels’ firing during his Wednesday morning press conference.

“Yeah, just heard about it this morning,” Belichick said. “Again, just trying to get ready for Washington.”

As for a possible reunion, Belichick reiterated: “Just getting ready for Washington.”

Under new coordinator and quarterbacks coach Bill O’Brien, the Patriots offense ranks second-worst in the league at 14.8 points per game. Last season, Belichick replaced McDaniels with the combination of Matt Patricia and Joe Judge. Patricia left after his only year as a play-caller, having overseen the worst Patriots offense of the Belichick era, while Judge was reassigned from quarterbacks coach to assistant head coach with an emphasis on special teams.

The Patriots will kick off against the Commanders at 1 p.m. Sunday from Gillette Stadium.

On Wednesday, Bill Belichick took his first questions about the team’s inactivity at the deadline. Belichick deflected the first two questions, saying his focus was on preparing for Sunday’s game against Washington. On Tuesday, the Commanders (3-4) were among the most active teams at the deadline, trading defensive ends Chase Young and Montez Sweat for picks in the second and third round of next year’s draft.

Pressed about any trade talks the Patriots (2-6) might have had Tuesday, Belichick repeatedly declined to offer specifics and called it “just another day.”

Below is a complete transcript of Belichick’s comments Wednesday related to the trade deadline:

Q: The trade deadline was yesterday. Was it a busy day for you guys?

Belichick: “Yeah, we’re getting ready for Washington.”

Q: Were you close on anything?

Belichick: “Spent time getting ready for Washington.”

Q: When you say you spent time getting ready for Washington yesterday, is that just there wasn’t much sort of percolated on the trade front for you guys?

Belichick: “Yeah, again, we talked about this the other day. The personnel department, the coaching department, we talked about that last week. It’s just another day.”

Q: So there really weren’t any decisions to make on your end?

Belichick: “If there was anything to talk about, we talked about it. If there wasn’t anything to talk about, then I worked on Washington, and the personnel people worked on personnel things.”

Q: “Bill, I’m really not trying to beat a dead horse here, but I just want to clarify you mentioned the personnel department handles the trade stuff and trade discussions maybe with other teams, but you are part of the personnel department here, why –“

Belichick: “Phil (Perry), I just said the same thing. We talked about this 50 times. If they have something that they think I need to know about, then we talk about it. If I have a personnel situation that I think they need to know about, I tell them about it, and then they look into it. It’s the same thing I’ve said the last 50 times we’ve talked about this. We work together when there’s something to work together on. If there’s not something to work together on, I coach, they do personnel.”

Q: “I was just trying to clarify just because you make it sound like two different things. Our understanding is you’re part of –“

Belichick: “Yes, if there’s something that we need to talk about, then we talk about it. And if there isn’t something to talk about, we don’t just sit there and stare at each other all day. We both have other stuff to do. Their department, the coaching apartment, there’s other things going on. So we don’t just sit there and stare at each other and see if the phone’s going to ring or there’s going to be something on the news or whatever. We have stuff to do.”

The man in that charge of that offense has no illusions about the state of his unit.

“Yeah, it hasn’t been what we want it to be. It’s been very inconsistent,” Pats offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien said Tuesday. “There’s been glimpses of, ‘Hey, this, this is good. This is what it can be, this is the rhythm that we need to get into, these are plays that are well-executed, well coached, well designed.’ And then these are other things that aren’t as good.

“So it’s very, very inconsistent.”

The Patriots appeared to make some progress during their loss at Las Vegas in Week 6, then their upset of the Bills in Week 7. But they scored just 17 points last Sunday at Miami, thanks to one touchdown drive on a short field and another against a prevent defense in the fourth quarter when the Dolphins had a 14-point lead.

The Pats have struggled in every area for long stretches of the season. Through eight games, they rank 24th in passing by DVOA and 19th in rushing. According to Pro Football Focus, the Patriots are a below-average offense in passing, pass-blocking, run-blocking and receiving.

Tying that all together is an offensive line that’s used 10 different combinations to start possessions this season, the result of several injuries and poor depth.

So did the NFL trade deadline.

Patriots fans got nothing but a bag of rocks.

The Great Pumpkin never materialized.

There was no all-in fire sale.

No deals. No nothing.

Same old, same old.

Rats! Bill held pat.

Robert remained MIA.

Or perhaps he stayed in MIA with his new wife, the esteemed Dr. Dana Blumberg. She is an actual doctor, having received a medical degree from St. Louis University.

Dr. Blumberg, 49, is a board-certified ophthalmologist and once taught ophthalmology at New York’s Columbia University. Presumably before it became a clearing house for Hamas sympathizers.

It might be time for Dr. Blumberg to give her husband a complete vision exam.

We’re not sure if Kraft can see that the Hoodie has no clothes.

Or that his team has done nothing but circle the rotary on Route 140 in Foxboro since Brady left in March 2020.

Or that losing is winning in 2023.

Or that Bill Belichick & Company’s time has passed.

We’ve covered some of this previously, but it must be noted again and again until the circumstances change just how far behind the Patriots have fallen in comparison to the competition.

The Dolphins might want to bronze Tua Tagovailoa. And not just because he’s one snap away from another season-curtailing injury.

You know by now Tua is 6-0 against Belichick.

More-so than any player not named Tom Brady, Tua has done more to keep Don Shula’s all-time wins record of 347 perennially out of reach for Belichick.

Brady giveth. And Brady curseth away.

It’s not just the six games.

Coach Mike McDaniel and Tua have demonstrated better than any other team that faces the Patriots on a regular basis just how much time has passed since Belichick Ball was a winnable proposition.

Belichick coached on a Giants team that won Super Bowl XXI with Phil Simms at QB. They won Super Bowl XXV with Jeff Hostetler taking snaps. Against Jim Kelly.

With that on the resume, it’s not hard to understand why Belichick continues to undervalue talented QBs.

Sunday at 9:30 a.m., you can watch a potential AFC championship preview from Germany as the Dolphins play the Chiefs in Germany. You will have an extra hour of sleep to prepare, as the clocks fall back one hour at 2 a.m. Sunday.

The Chiefs have won two Super Bowls since the Patriots won their last playoff game. This is where we remind you that Patrick Mahomes’ dad once played for the Red Sox. And Mahomes was taken with the 10th pick in the 2017 draft. The Patriots could win their next three games and still land the 10th pick in this QB-laden draft.

The Patriots wouldn’t give Brady two years guaranteed for $50 million after he won his sixth Super Bowl. The Chiefs gave Mahomes the biggest contract in NFL history. Andy Reid is no Gen Xer. He’s 65. But he hasn’t been afraid to adapt his game-plan to suit the NFL’s desire for action and push for skilled talent to replace skilled talent.

The Dolphins haven’t won a Super Bowl since Nixon was in the White House. They have the roster and talent now more than ever to succeed in the NFL.

The Dolphins could well snag home field in the AFC. Patriots fans know just how brutal games in January can be when you leave the snow and cold of New England for the bright sun, 88-degree temperatures and 91% humidity of Miami Gardens. Fans in Kansas City, Baltimore, Cincinnati, or Buffalo may learn that lesson soon.

We’re not sure if Kraft could see Stephen Ross (Stephen Freaking Ross!) celebrating in his owner’s box Sunday. We understand if Kraft couldn’t bear to watch. Ross was suspended by the NFL for 76 days last year after it was found his team tampered with Sean Payton and Brady.

If Kraft cannot visualize what’s happening, he may finally feel it in his wallet later this season when the stands in Foxboro are 40% empty – cutting in on concession sales – and next spring with the season ticket renewals fail to materialize.

It’s hard not to fault Belichick and Kraft for running the same playbook with a tight checkbook. Combined, they are 153 years old – 153 years ago, college football was in its second season. We didn’t have telephones, electric lights, or organized professional baseball.

Belichick is in his 49th season coaching in the NFL. Kraft bought the Patriots in 1994. That’s 78 years of collective experience coaching and owning in the NFL.

How dare you question them?

Patriots Twitter (X) tells us three of 191 NFL teams who started 2-6 made the playoffs, which means 188 have not.

The Patriots are 25-1 to make the playoffs, 120-1 to win the AFC East, 200-1 to win the AFC and, you might want to sit down for this one, 300-1 to win the Super Bowl. All those numbers come from DraftKings and have been translated from betting lingo to make it easier on the uninitiated.

The Patriots are 16th in a 16-team conference.

If they go any lower, they’ll be in the NFC.

The Patriots are no different than any great dynasty in its waning days.

Nothing works like it used to. The enemy is at the gates. (Or in the case of the Dolphins, swimming circles around you.)

The masses are restless. Past glories mask present misery.

The Kraft Family has replaced bread and circuses with free parking and a towering multi-million-dollar priapic lighthouse that can be interpreted in several ways.

Including as a giant middle-finger to the fan base.

Pretty soon, Kraft may see that same finger flashed a few thousand times in the stands at Gillette.

With or without an eye exam.

Bill Speros (@RealOBF and @Bill Speros on X) can be reached at bsperos1@gmail.com

The Bears traded a 2024 second-round draft pick Tuesday to the Washington Commanders for defensive end Montez Sweat.

Sweat, who leads the Commanders with 6 1/2 sacks, immediately becomes the best edge defender for the Bears, who are last in the NFL with 10 sacks.

“Montez is a huge addition to our team,” Poles said in a statement. “He is not only a great player but a great person. We expect him to help elevate our defense.”

The Bears can negotiate a contract extension with Sweat or use the franchise tag to secure him before free agency starts in March. They are projected to have about $100 million in salary-cap room, so space to pay Sweat would not be an issue.

It would not be surprising if the Bears already are working on a new contract for Sweat with the goal of securing his future with the team when he arrives.

The 27-year-old Sweat, a first-round pick from Mississippi State in 2019, has been the Commanders’ most consistent edge rusher for the last three seasons as a knee injury sidelined Chase Young.

Young has bounced back this season, but concerns about the stability of his right knee — he tore the ACL and patellar tendon in 2021 — made Sweat the more sought-after player as the Commanders sorted through trade options. They also dealt Young to the San Francisco 49ers for a conditional third-round pick, according to reports.

The Bears attempted to address their pass rush at the outset of training camp by signing veteran Yannick Ngakoue to a one-year, $10.5 million contract. He has been disappointing so far and hasn’t had a quarterback hit in the last three games. Ngakoue is tied with weak-side linebacker T.J. Edwards for the team lead with two sacks.

Bears defensive ends have combined for 13 quarterback hits, led by DeMarcus Walker’s five, and five sacks in eight games.

Securing Sweat would make this a more sound investment than the gamble Poles made at this time last year, when he traded a second-round pick to the Pittsburgh Steelers for wide receiver Chase Claypool. The goal was to provide developing quarterback Justin Fields with more help, but a knee injury sidelined Claypool and he struggled to fit into the offense.

Claypool finished with 14 catches for 140 yards in seven games for the Bears in 2022, and despite everyone saying all the right things about the former Notre Dame standout in the offseason, he didn’t fit in this season either. Poles eventually cut his losses, sending Claypool and a seventh-round pick in 2025 to the Miami Dolphins for a sixth-round pick in 2025.

“You’re always disappointed in this situation, and it’s definitely something I take ownership of,” Poles told WMVP-AM 1000 after the trade. “Last year, in the situation we were in, we wanted to add another receiver to the offense, not only to help us be more productive but also to help Justin take the next step. The right thought process was there, and I feel comfortable with that.

“Unfortunately it didn’t work out and we were hoping for him to be a little bit more productive and be someone that could help us take it to the next level.”

That same thought process was in play with Sweat, and if the Bears can work out an extension, they wouldn’t be making as big of a gamble. Plus they’re getting a player with a greater track record of success.

More Bears news

• Bears injury news: QB Justin Fields will miss his 3rd straight game, plus Jaquan Brisker and Tremaine Edmunds updates
• Bears can’t make it 2 wins in a row — again: Brad Biggs’ 10 thoughts on the Week 8 loss to the Chargers
• Column: When will the NFL and TV networks learn to stop putting the Bears in prime time
• True or false: The Tyson Bagent fairy tale has reached the end for the Bears after a shaky Week 8 performance
• What to know about the Bears’ possible move from Soldier Field — and which other suburbs are vying for the stadium

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Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles assumed one when he made another big deadline-day deal Tuesday, sending a second-round draft pick to the Washington Commanders for defensive end Montez Sweat, a formidable addition to a defense utterly lacking a pass rush.

Poles bet on himself and his staff that they can get Sweat to stick with the Bears in the long term and be part of a second wave of roster overhaul. If so, he will be a foundational piece for the defense. That is the risk in the move for Sweat, who the Bears will pay $6.5 million for the final nine games of the season before his contract expires.

Of course, the Bears could consider a franchise or transition tag to keep Sweat in place or create more time for negotiations, but at this point, they have to be hoping it won’t come to that. Poles also has the future of Jaylon Johnson to consider after the cornerback briefly had permission to seek a trade with nothing materializing.

The Sweat trade was a move made for 2024 and beyond, and it makes sense from the standpoint that if the Bears had not traded for Sweat, another team likely would have (Atlanta Falcons?) and prevented him from reaching free agency. Had the Commanders kept Sweat, it’s unlikely they would have allowed him to reach the marketplace.

The Carolina Panthers are highly unlikely to allow Brian Burns to exit as a free agent. In other words, the Bears might have had a hard time finding a player of Sweat’s caliber in free agency. Instead, they could have shopped for leftovers like Yannick Ngakoue, who the Bears signed at the outset of training camp this summer to a $10.5 million, one-year contract. That’s not a path they wanted to head down again.

The college football season is a little more than halfway through and right now the 2024 draft class doesn’t look to have a no-doubt edge rusher. Maybe that changes but in talking with a handful of college evaluators, they’re not blown away by potential high-end talent at the position. Sure, there are intriguing prospects, but right now all come with questions.

If Poles’ evaluators were telling him similar things, it’s possible he reached the same conclusion and decided the risk — who knows how Sweat feels about the Bears and Halas Hall? — was more than worth it.

A second-rounder is a premium selection, no question. The Bears’ selection, now owned by the Commanders, could easily fall in the first five picks of the round. The Commanders could get a great player there. They could wind up with a bust. One personnel man said his team did an exhaustive study of pick value over the last 10 seasons. He called finding a solid starter with a high two — what this pick should be — about a 40% proposition.

“A lot depends on the depth of the individual class,” he said. “And then, of course, you have to nail the pick.”

Poles can always maneuver during the draft, perhaps trading down a short distance with one of his first-round picks, to recoup capital used to acquire Sweat. If the Bears plan to use their first pick on a quarterback, they could trade Justin Fields for a pick.

The Bears have to sign Sweat, 27, to nail this deal because they already know what kind of player he is. Sweat led the Commanders with 6 1/2 sacks (1 1/2 came in the Bears’ Week 5 win over Washington at FedEx Field) and has 32 tackles, two forced fumbles and one pass breakup. His 10 tackles for loss is tied for the second-most in the NFC.

Sweat is one of seven players since 2019 (the year the Commanders drafted him in the first round) to have at least 80 quarterback hits, 30 tackles and 40 tackles for loss joining a list that includes Myles Garrett, Nick Bosa, Joey Bosa, Maxx Crosby, Cam Jordan and Burns. Not only does he hunt quarterbacks, but he’s also a rugged run defender.

“Montez is a huge addition to our team,” Poles said in a statement. “He is not only a great player but a great person. We expect him to help elevate our defense.”

The Bears likely considered the possibility of Sweat’s teammate Chase Young, the No. 2 overall draft pick in 2020 and defensive rookie of the year that season. But Young would have come with medical risk after suffering a torn ACL and ruptured patellar tendon in his right knee in 2021. The 49ers wound up acquiring Young, also on an expiring contract, for a supplemental third-round pick Tuesday.

The trade for Sweat is conditional on his passing a physical. Some teams red-flagged him in 2019 at the combine because of a preexisting heart condition. NFL Media reported prior to the draft that other clubs felt the diagnosis of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, which results in thickening of the heart walls, was incorrect.

This is certainly something the Bears will want to look at but Sweat has been a model of durability in the NFL with the exception of time missed in 2021 because of a broken jaw. Chances are the Bears are confident the player will pass their exams.

The Bears knew the pass rush would be a mixed bag this season — they are last in the NFL with only 10 sacks — and that is why they bucked up for Ngakoue. He has been disappointing so far and hasn’t had a quarterback hit in the last three games. Ngakoue is tied with weak-side linebacker T.J. Edwards for the team lead with two sacks. Bears defensive ends have combined for 13 quarterback hits, led by DeMarcus Walker’s five, and have only five sacks in eight games.

Sweat should help change the complexion of the front seven — although he won’t do it by himself — and that in turn should help Johnson and a young secondary cover better.

Poles swung-and-missed when he traded a second-round pick to the Pittsburgh Steelers for wide receiver Chase Claypool before the deadline last season. That trade fizzled almost immediately and surely there were lessons learned. Sweat won’t arrive with the football character questions that Claypool brought with him.

It would have been easy for Poles to stand pat, with the Bears 2-6, and continue to assess specifically how he wants to attack many roster needs in the offseason. But he explored all possibilities — even potentially trading the team’s best cornerback, Johnson — and made an aggressive bid to get Sweat.

The Bears project to have about $100 million in salarycap space, more than enough to make a bevy of moves. Poles has to prioritize signing Sweat — the Miami Dolphins got a contract extension done with edge rusher Bradley Chubb two days after acquiring him in a trade from the Denver Broncos last year — and then continue dialogue with Johnson’s camp.

Yes, there is risk involved here. Sweat and his representation have leverage right now knowing the Bears must sign him. But free agency is dangerous and the draft is a gamble in itself.

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A source confirmed an ESPN report late Monday that Johnson requested a trade and the Bears gave him permission to search for a new home. But a deal for Johnson didn’t work out before the 3 p.m. deadline.

Now the Bears can keep their top cornerback for the final nine games, and general manager Ryan Poles has until free agency begins in March to work out a long-term contract. The Bears also could use the franchise or transition tag.

However, CBS Sports’ Josina Anderson reported Johnson does not plan to engage in contract talks the rest of the season.

Johnson, who is in the final year of his rookie deal, made it known for months he would like an extension with the Bears. But he said Thursday that contract extension talks with the Bears were “slower than expected.” When asked last week what he was seeking, he said “security.”

“That’s what we play the game for,” Johnson said. “A lot of it goes back to respect as well. It’s not just about taking anything as well. You can throw some numbers at somebody and just hope they take anything, but that’s not what I’m looking to do. I’m looking for respect and security at the end of the day.”

Johnson, 24, is the Bears’ top cornerback. His two interceptions against the Las Vegas Raiders on Oct. 22 were just the second and third of his career, but he takes pride in shutting down teams’ top receivers.

In 45 games over four seasons, he has 35 passes defended, 143 tackles and three forced fumbles. He has missed at least a couple of games each year with injuries or illnesses, including six games last season.

Poles has built depth at cornerback by drafting Kyler Gordon, Tyrique Stevenson and Terell Smith the last two years. But the Bears have said many times they value Johnson, including coach Matt Eberflus last week.

“He has done everything we’ve asked,” Eberflus said. “He’s been really good in training camp. He’s worked every single day during that process. He’s done a really good job of improving his craft.

“He’s always been really good in terms of being sticky at the top of routes and being able to close distances and make plays on the ball. Now he’s starting to make those interceptions, which is positive. And the tackling is better.”

Poles said on the team’s pregame radio show Sunday on WMVP-AM 1000 he was proud of the way Johnson played against the Raiders, a game that included his first career pick-six. But Poles noted a new contract has to work for both sides.

The top 15 cornerbacks in the league make between about $13 million and $21 million per year.

“Everybody wants respect. But like I’ve talked about with contracts before, can the team and the player find common ground that makes sense all the way around?” Poles said. “I’ve been really proud of our group with all things contract and cap. (Director of football administration) Matt Feinstein has done a great job with research to make sure we’re seeing things the right way. So we’ll see how things go.

“We’re in a phase where we want to retain homegrown talent. That’s important. But again, it takes two sides to make something happen.”

Johnson said Thursday he didn’t know which way the contract talks would go.

“I’m waiting to see because somebody can say one thing and you believe it and then something else happens,” Johnson said. “We’ve seen what happened to (former Carolina Panthers running back Christian) McCaffrey. They told him (they) weren’t going to trade him. Trade him at (the last minute). I don’t believe hardly anything I’m told. I’m going off actions.”

The trade request was the second public one by a Bears player in a little more than a year. In August 2022, linebacker Roquan Smith published a letter on social media requesting a trade after contract negotiations didn’t go the way he wanted.

Smith played the first two months of the season without a new contract, and Poles then traded Smith to the Baltimore Ravens for 2023 second- and fifth-round draft picks and linebacker A.J. Klein.

Smith, who signed a five-year, $100 million deal with the Ravens, was named an All-Pro last season. The Bears then signed linebacker Tremaine Edmunds in the offseason to a four-year, $72 million contract with $50 million guaranteed.

The Bears didn’t trade Johnson on Tuesday, but they still made a big move. Poles acquired defensive end Montez Sweat from the Washington Commanders in exchange for a 2024 second-round draft pick.

More Bears news

• Bears injury news: QB Justin Fields will miss his 3rd straight game, plus Jaquan Brisker and Tremaine Edmunds updates
• Bears can’t make it 2 wins in a row — again: Brad Biggs’ 10 thoughts on the Week 8 loss to the Chargers
• Column: When will the NFL and TV networks learn to stop putting the Bears in prime time?
• True or false: The Tyson Bagent fairy tale has reached the end for the Bears after a shaky Week 8 performance
• What to know about the Bears’ possible move from Soldier Field — and which other suburbs are vying for the stadium

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HENDERSON, Nev. (AP) — When the Las Vegas Raiders hired Josh McDaniels in January 2022, he said he had learned from his first stint as an NFL head coach.

But McDaniels’ record actually was worse the second time around than it was with the Denver Broncos in 2009 and 2010, and late Tuesday night, the Raiders announced that owner Mark Davis fired McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler.

McDaniels became the first non-interim coach in the Super Bowl era to be fired by two franchises before the end of his second season.

“After much thought about what the Raiders need to move forward, I have decided to part ways with Josh and Dave,” Davis said in a statement. “I want to thank them both for their hard work and wish them and their families nothing but the best.”

The Raiders announced linebackers coach Antonio Pierce will take over as the interim coach. His first game will be Sunday at home against the Giants. He played for New York from 2005-09.

Las Vegas also announced assistant general manager Champ Kelly will be the interim GM.

The team will conduct searches for replacements for McDaniels and Ziegler after the season.

McDaniels was the Raiders’ play caller, so offensive coordinator Mick Lombardi might take over those duties.

Davis had hoped to bring the New England’s success westward when he hired McDaniels, the longtime Patriots offensive coordinator. Ziegler worked in New England’s front office, and between the former teammates at John Carroll University, they transformed the Raiders into Patriots West by signing several players with ties to that organization.

But despite taking over a team that made the playoffs in 2021 before losing to the Cincinnati Bengals in the wild-card round, the success Davis so badly wanted never made its way to Las Vegas.

The Raiders under McDaniels went 6-11 in 2022 and are 3-5 so far this season for a .360 winning percentage. His record at Denver was 11-17 (.393 percentage).

Even so, Davis has stood by McDaniels, and the timing of this dismissal is surprising. McDaniels met with the media early Tuesday afternoon and was scheduled for another news conference Wednesday morning to discuss facing the Giants.

But McDaniels had some things working against him. The Raiders have failed to score at least 20 points in eight of their past nine games dating to last season, and offense is his specialty. The one game Las Vegas reached that figure came because of a fourth-quarter safety in a 21-17 victory over the Patriots on Oct. 15.

Perhaps just as damaging was the public displeasure some of his players have shown. Star wide receiver Davante Adams, in particular, has been vocal since the offseason about his concerns regarding the direction of the franchise. Running back Josh Jacobs when asked after Monday night’s loss to the Detroit Lions about what might spark the offense, said, “I don’t know, that ain’t my job.”

McDaniels was hired following the 2021 season when Davis opted not to keep interim coach Rich Bisaccia on for the full-time job even after he led the team to a surprising playoff run.

McDaniels and Ziegler were aggressive in their first offseason, trading first and second-round picks for Adams, giving a big free agent contract to defensive end Chandler Jones and extending the contracts of Derek Carr, Maxx Crosby, Darren Waller and Hunter Renfrow.

But those moves didn’t lead to positive results on the field as McDaniels never was able to build the high-powered offense Davis expected when he hired him and struggled to win games.

The Raiders lost a record-tying five games after taking double-digit leads, including blowing a 20-0 halftime lead in his home debut against Arizona for the biggest collapse in franchise history. Las Vegas lost to Indianapolis in the Colts’ first game with Jeff Saturday as interim coach after he had never coached above high school level and then lost to Baker Mayfield and the Rams two days after Mayfield joined his new team.

McDaniels benched Carr late last season and eventually cut him in the offseason, giving the Raiders no return for a starting quarterback who ended up getting a $150 million contract from New Orleans.

McDaniels brought in his former pupil in New England, Jimmy Garoppolo, as the new starting quarterback and the offense severely regressed, becoming the first team since 2009 to score less than 20 points on offense in each of the first eight games of the season.

The last two weeks were particularly humbling as Las Vegas lost 30-12 to Chicago and undrafted rookie former Division II quarterback Tyson Bagent and then looked completely inept in a 26-14 loss at Detroit on Monday night.

McDaniels finished his tenure with the third-worst record of any Raiders coach with at least 25 games.

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AP Pro Football Writer Josh Dubow contributed to this report.

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

The NFL trade deadline came and went Tuesday without Baltimore making a move. Coach John Harbaugh said the day before that he thinks the team has everything it needs in terms of players to be successful, and the lack of adding to the roster seems to indicate general manager Eric DeCosta feels the same.

DeCosta, who typically does not speak to the media during the season, was unavailable for comment.

“Do we have a specific overarching have-to-have guy? No,” Harbaugh said Monday. “We have an excellent roster.”

Though the NFL trade deadline doesn’t produce the same flurry of activity that is seen in other sports such as the NBA and MLB, there were deals to be made.

The San Francisco 49ers strengthened their already elite defense by reportedly trading a 2024 third-round pick for Commanders star defensive end Chase Young. Washington also unloaded their other defensive end, Montez Sweat, to the Chicago Bears for a second-round draft pick next year.

The Minnesota Vikings, who lost quarterback Kirk Cousins for the rest of the season to a torn Achilles tendon Sunday, traded sixth- and seventh-round picks to the Arizona Cardinals for a seventh-round pick and quarterback Joshua Dobbs, who had filled in while Kyler Murray continued to work his way back from a torn ACL.

The Detroit Lions, meanwhile, landed wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones from the Cleveland Browns for a sixth-round pick in 2025.

And just up I-95, Eagles general manager Howie Roseman a week before the deadline perhaps bolstered Philadelphia’s chances of returning to the Super Bowl by acquiring Titans All-Pro safety Kevin Byard, whose 27 interceptions since 2016 are the most in the NFL.

As for the Ravens, they appear to be happy with a roster that has produced a 6-2 record and boasts the league’s best defense in multiple metrics, including sacks (31), points allowed per game (15.1) and is No. 1 in FTN Fantasy’s Defense-adjusted Value Over Average (DVOA). On offense, they lost their top running back J.K. Dobbins for the season to a torn Achilles tendon in Week 1, but Justice Hill and Gus Edwards have done a solid if unspectacular job filling in.

Still, despite their success this season the Ravens have endured uneven performances on both sides of the ball, and Harbaugh said they were open to a potential trade.

“If an opportunity came to bring in somebody that can help us or make us better in any area, really, but certain areas more than others of course, and you can do it in a way that’s affordable to the team and the club cap-wise [and] draft pick-wise, those kind of things, you would do it,” he said. “You would do it to try and get better.”

That’s what they did a year ago, trading 2023 second- and fifth-round picks, along with linebacker A.J. Klein, to the Chicago Bears for All-Pro inside linebacker Roquan Smith. This season, Smith leads the team in tackles and is the unquestioned vocal leader in the locker room and on the field.

In 2019, the Ravens also made a major move at the deadline, acquiring cornerback Marcus Peters from the Los Angeles Rams in exchange for linebacker Kenny Young and a 2020 fifth-round pick. Peters tore his ACL in 2021 and missed the season, but in 37 games with Baltimore had eight interceptions, including two for touchdowns, during the regular season, and his interception late in a wild-card playoff game against the Titans during the 2020 season helped seal a 20-13 victory.

Though tight on cap space — just $2.8 million currently — the Ravens did have the assets to make a move.

Baltimore has eight picks in next April’s draft, with one pick through each of the first five rounds, plus their own seventh-round pick. They also have the Jets’ seventh-rounder from the Chuck Clark trade and will likely get a compensatory fourth-round pick after left guard Ben Powers signed with the Denver Broncos in free agency in the offseason. They will also open up more cap space with each week outside linebacker Tyus Bowser, long snapper Nick Moore and rookie offensive lineman Andrew Vorhees remain on the non-football injury list, and there are almost always contracts that can be restructured to manufacture more.

However, it’s possible that Bowser could soon be returning from his knee injury, with Harbaugh saying Monday that the veteran is “optimistic” he would be back in the next few weeks. He also said that cornerback Damarion “Pepe” Williams is expected to be coming off injured reserve after undergoing ankle surgery in August.

“I love our guys,” Harbaugh said. “I think we have everything we need to be successful.”

Time will tell.

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Sunday’s 30-13 blowout by the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., once again confirmed the Bears as a struggling team lacking the playmaking firepower to consistently beat quality opponents.

As that latest defeat settles in, Tribune writers Dan Wiederer and Colleen Kane play a game of true or false with four prominent topics.

Kane: True or false? After Sunday’s shaky performance against the Chargers, the Tyson Bagent fairy tale is effectively over.

Wiederer: Wait. What? Are we being serious here, Chicago? Are we trying to implement a super-speed round for quarterback evaluation that offers only two starts before definitive conclusions must be drawn? False. False, false, false.

Indeed, Bagent struggled Sunday and was behind the wheel of a sloppy offensive performance in which the Bears squeezed only 13 points and 295 yards out of 11 possessions. He threw two interceptions and was almost picked off two other times by a defense that entered the night allowing a league-worst 310 passing yards per game.

It certainly wasn’t a repeat performance of the impressive control he showed in his first start during an encouraging home victory over the Las Vegas Raiders. But Sunday’s dud also wasn’t a surprise, particularly for an undrafted rookie out of Division II who is acclimating to the speed and demands of the NFL.

Inconsistency and struggle are always part of the journey for young quarterbacks as they gain experience. One key is properly reacting to and growing from shaky outings like Sunday’s.

Look, I’ve been on record saying Justin Fields needs to be back in the huddle as soon as the medical staff clears him to play. A comprehensive evaluation of his development and direction is one of the major to-do items for the 2023 Bears. And Bagent should be ready to slide back into the QB2 seat, perhaps as early as next week.

But to declare an abrupt end to his fairy-tale rise? Nope. Nuh-uh. That’s ridiculous.

Kane: Bagent’s performance Sunday, part of a Bears offensive showing riddled with mistakes, wasn’t great, but you’re right that it also shouldn’t serve as the basis for writing off Bagent’s ability to play in the NFL. I don’t understand the people who are so quick to do that after a start or two, even if they’re skeptical of his roots at Shepherd University.

But the situation is complicated in that Bagent’s attempt to improve with more experience will have to pause when the Bears go back to Fields. When that happens, when will Bagent get his next opportunity?

I think we can recognize the talent and potential of Fields and want the Bears to see if he can put it all together for the rest of the season while also saying we’re interested in seeing if Bagent can improve with more experience. (Saying one of those statements doesn’t make me a hater of the other, no matter what social media tells me!)

But one does come at the expense of the other. And that means while Bagent’s underdog story might not be over, it eventually will have to pivot to being told from the backup role. For now, he will get another shot against the New Orleans Saints.

Wiederer: True or false? If Justin Fields is healthy enough to play, it’s better for him to come back against the Lions in Week 11 than the Panthers in Week 10.

Kane: False. As long as he can’t do further damage to his injured thumb, Fields should come back as soon as he and the Bears feel like the injury won’t hinder his ability to lead the offense.

As we’ve talked about before, Fields has a lot riding on the last two months of this season as he tries to convince the Bears they should stick with him beyond this season. I understand the thinking that coming back on a short week of practice to face the Panthers on “Thursday Night Football” isn’t ideal. But after Bagent starts against the Saints, Fields would have just eight games to get this offense into a groove.

Especially if he can practice in some capacity this week, he needs to get started as soon as he physically can. And returning in a winnable game against the Panthers seems like a good time.

Wiederer: Fields, Matt Eberflus said Monday, isn’t quite well enough to play in New Orleans. With that established, I would hold Fields out until after the second mini-bye following the Panthers game, which would afford him a smoother on-ramp back into action with a regular week of practice reps.

Yes, as you pointed out, the clock is definitely ticking here. The Bears have only nine more games before they will face some pretty significant decisions regarding how to move forward at the most important position. They need Fields back on the field soon to continue assessing the requisite improvements he needs to make for them to believe in his development.

It seemed reasonable to think Fields’ right thumb would be healed and his grip strength functional for this week. But if the Bears insist he’s still struggling physically and can’t play the position properly, then we will all settle in for another Tyson Bagent start. Or perhaps two.

Kane: True or false? The NFL should seriously consider flexing the Bears’ Week 12 game with the Vikings off Monday night.

Wiederer: True. The last-place Bears haven’t won consecutive games since late in the 2021 season and haven’t shown the ability to regularly entertain a national audience. And the suddenly resurgent Vikings are now dealing with the torpedo that hit their season Sunday when quarterback Kirk Cousins tore his Achilles tendon.

If the Nov. 27 game at U.S. Bank Stadium had much appeal to begin with, it definitely dipped after Sunday’s developments for both teams. So, yes, the league should consider an alternative for that “Monday Night Football” opening.

Yet here’s the big snag: That’s Thanksgiving weekend, and the league already has three games locked into the Thursday holiday slots, another (Dolphins-Jets) set for the afternoon of Black Friday and the Ravens-Chargers game scheduled for Sunday night. That significantly reduces the inventory of games the league can consider flexing with Bears-Vikings.

Kane: Yeah, it’s not exactly a marquee matchup from where we stand, though the Bears might be game for a Cousins-less Vikings team in prime time. It might finally be their chance for the first NFC North win of the Matt Eberflus era, if they can’t get it done a week earlier in Detroit.

The league has been flexing Sunday night games for years but just implemented the Monday and Thursday night flex options this year. They have to announce it no fewer than 12 days before the game, so we should know in a couple of weeks if Bears fans need to adjust their Thanksgiving weekend viewing plans — assuming the Bears are still keeping their interest by that point.

Wiederer: True or false? The Bears’ lack of a pass rush is the defense’s biggest problem.

Kane: True. It was the Bears’ biggest problem last year, and it remains so this year despite general manager Ryan Poles’ efforts to upgrade the defensive line in the offseason.

The Bears have only 10 sacks and rank last in the NFL with a 3.4% sack rate. Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert operated with ease while completing 31 passes for 298 yards and three touchdowns without being sacked Sunday. Linebacker T.J. Edwards is tied with defensive end Yannick Ngakoue for the team lead with two sacks. Defensive tackle Justin Jones has seven quarterback hits.

The Bears defense has other issues too. Injuries in the secondary have contributed to some of its struggles. Missed tackles were prominent Sunday. The Bears had only one takeaway against the Chargers. But their inability to make life difficult for opposing quarterbacks has been so glaring, and it’s something Poles needs to make his offseason focus.

Wiederer: Not only do the Bears rank 32nd in sacks, they are five shy of the eight defenses that are tied for second-to-last. And don’t forget, a dozen teams have already had bye weeks to limit their totals through Week 8.

The Bears not only didn’t sack Herbert on Sunday — the 18th time in the 25-game Eberflus era they went without multiple sacks — but they hit Herbert only twice. When you give any quarterback that kind of peace of mind, he becomes dangerous. When you give a standout quarterback that kind of comfort, it’s downright lethal.

We’ve known for a long time that adding pass-rush help is a major priority for the Bears. It has to be addressed ASAP. Until then, we’ll continue knowing the Bears defense as an all-too-ordinary unit incapable of consistently being the reason the team wins.

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For half the year, baseball teams play almost every day. For fans, the ritual of watching games, reading box scores, and following quotidian ups and downs of a team makes baseball an essential part of daily life in a way no other sport can.

Ironically, just at the moment that baseball has rightly adopted rule changes, like the pitch clock to bring the sport back to its faster-playing roots, Major League Baseball managed the unthinkable: It made the sacred regular season far less important. How? By preventing teams with the best records from playing any games for a week straight at the start of the playoffs, the most unnatural prison sentence possible for a baseball team.

Thus, the three teams (Braves, Dodgers, Orioles) who this year won 100 or more regular season games — the classic benchmark of a great team — were each colder than ice after the enforced weeklong layoff, collectively losing nine out of 10 playoff games, and so were quickly eliminated. Note that each 100-game winner was necessarily playing against teams that had just come off winning the previous three game series, and so were facing teams still in season form and playing well.

Face it MLB: Keeping teams with the best records from playing baseball for a week is a huge penalty, the baseball equivalent of jail, not a reward.

The problem is extended playoff schemes, which were originally sold as just an expedient needed due to the COVID pandemic. But greedy MLB executives and owners realized they could also squeeze in a few extra playoff games if they perpetuated a system where six teams in each league qualified. If baseball insists on six teams from each league, then two teams simply have to sit while the other four play.

During its first 65 years, the World Series featured just one team from each league with the best regular season record. Then for the next 25 years, from 1968 to 1993, only two teams in each league qualified for the playoffs.

Now 12 teams, or more than a third of the entire MLB’s 30 teams, qualify for what is effectively a tournament. Is it any surprise we have Arizona and Texas in the World Series this year, two teams that not only did not win their divisions, but finished at or near the bottom in wins of all qualifying teams.

But the current format is even more insidious than that. It encourages teams to create rosters geared just for the postseason, favoring two or three pitchers who might dominate absurdly short three-game and then five-game series, rather than prizing the traditional four or five pitcher rotations by requiring all seven-game playoff series. In short, all that matters now is getting in the dance, and having a couple of hot pitchers and hitters.

To reestablish its identity and the integrity of its regular season, baseball needs to return to a saner postseason format. The simplest and fairest method would allow only four teams from each league to reach the playoffs.

This method was used successfully from 1994-2011. Unfortunately after that, the so-called “expanded wild card” madness took hold, first allowing five teams in each league to qualify from 2012-2019, and now the six-headed hydra in each league. It’s a disaster baked into the collective bargaining agreement the players and owners reached during the hold out season of 2022. So yes, the players are partly to blame, too.

Yet there may be a fairer way forward, after all. Under the latest labor agreement, baseball is intending to expand to 32 teams. With that number of teams, the MLB could create two divisions of eight teams in each league, with the winner of each division reaching the playoffs and the additional two teams with the top records in each league also qualifying. Then the division winners could host five of seven first round games, the winners of those games with the best record hosting five of seven in the league championship series games, with the winners onto the World Series.

No system is perfect. But equally, the MLB cannot perpetuate a system that undermines its most definitive characteristic — the long daily regular season — and then penalizes its best teams for winning during that season. To do so is to throw out 150 years of tradition. After all, they are not called the men of October. They are called the Boys of Summer.

Paul Bledsoe (X: @paulbledsoe) is an Orioles and Nationals fan from Arlington, Virginia.

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The Patriots did not make any trades before the NFL’s trade deadline Tuesday at 4 p.m., locking them into their current roster for the remainder of the season.

At 2-6, the Patriots reportedly received several calls from other front offices and were expected to entertain selling. Their playoff hopes are virtually shot. Many key starters, including Matt Judon, Kendrick Bourne and Christian Gonzalez, are expected to miss most of, if not all of, the rest of the season.

The Pats took calls on veteran players in contract years, including pass rusher Josh Uche. The 25-year-old has missed the team’s last two games with an ankle injury, and has not reached terms with the team on an extension. Despite tallying just two sacks this season, Uche ranks among the most effective per-snap pass rushers in the NFL.

Two other edge rushers, Washington’s Montez Sweat and Chase Young, were dealt Tuesday for 2024 draft picks in the second and third round, respectively. It’s unknown what market the Patriots had for Uche.

“Josh is a great player,” Pats safeties coach Brian Belichick said Tuesday. “(He) obviously puts a lot of pressure on the offensive line with his quickness, explosiveness, strength and power, you know, whatever it is. But he gets off the ball very quickly. And I would say puts pressure on the offensive line when you’re lined up across from him. So it’s always good when he’s out there.”

According to Sports Illustrated, the Patriots also took calls on safety Kyle Dugger and offensive lineman Mike Onwenu. Like Uche, Dugger and Onwenu are 2020 draft picks amid contract years. Pats quarterback Mac Jones and running back Ezekiel Elliott reportedly did not generate any trade interest.

Looking ahead, the Patriots are currently scheduled to hold the third-most cap space in 2024. In addition to the aforementioned players in contract years, Bourne, starting left tackle Trent Brown, tight ends Hunter Henry and Mike Gesicki and defensive back Jalen Mills are scheduled to hit free agency.

Familiar issues remain for the Chicago Bears (2-5), who enter Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers (2-4) at SoFi Stadium having won two of their last three games. They struggle to get after the opposing quarterback, which could be problematic against Justin Herbert.

Eight of their 10 sacks (which ranks 31st ahead of only the Houston Texans’ nine) have come in the last three games. Five were against the Washington Commanders’ Sam Howell, who has been sacked a league-high 40 times. Howell is not on pace to set an NFL record for sacks in a season (76, David Carr, 2002 Texans), he’s on track to smash it. At the current rate, he will be sacked 97 times because he lacks an internal clock once the ball is snapped.

Four of the Bears’ six interceptions have come in the last three games. All but one of the six (against Howell) came against a backup quarterback — take them when you can get them.

The Bears have allowed only 44 points in the last three games and four touchdowns and they’ve also limited opponents to 29.4% on third down in that span, which ranks third in the league. They have allowed 40 explosive plays (passes for 15 yards or more and runs of 10-plus yards), the 13th most in the league. In the last three weeks, there have been only nine, which ranks No. 2.

It’s a huge turnaround. Since the start of last season, the Bears’ defensive issues have been a little overlooked at times with a hyperfocus on the organization’s ongoing quarterback issues.

What has shifted under Eberflus, one of six head coaches to call defenses for his team?

“Flus does a good job of hearing what his players want and trying to include that with the game plan,” defensive tackle Justin Jones said. “That is the only thing I would say is different.”

The blitz rate has ticked up a bit of late. The Bears have pressured with five or more rushers 22.6% of the time since Week 2, which ranks 20th. That rate is 28.1% over the last three weeks, middle of the pack leaguewide at 15th. It has led to only modest results. The Bears’ pressure rate in six games with Eberflus calling plays is 22.6% (30th) and it’s 23.7% (26th) in the last three games.

So it’s not as if turning linebackers and member of the secondary loose has made a dramatic difference. But Eberflus has been pushing the right buttons, and the numbers hint at things trending in the right direction even when you consider the degree of difficulty facing Howell and the Commanders and Las Vegas Raiders backups Brian Hoyer and Aidan O’Connell, along with talented Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins minus his best receiver, Justin Jefferson.

“Flus is starting to get to know the guys he has and we’re starting to get to know him,” said defensive end DeMarcus Walker, alluding to the major personnel changes the team had in the front seven to begin the season. “It’s really cohesive. That’s been a big element, he and us getting comfortable with his play calling and we’re talking through all the week and even on game day on the sideline. It’s pretty consistent.”

Coverages on the back end remain the same. The Bears are playing more Cover-2 than anything else, but just more than Cover-3 and one man, so they’re mixing it up and, of course, the game plan is going to shift a little depending on the opponent.

“For me, just seeing him all those years in Indy, it kind of feels the same,” linebackers coach Dave Borgonzi said. “It’s both the execution and the call. He’s got a great feel for in-game calling. It’s made a real difference.”

One minor shift is the Bears have moved to using dime personnel — six defensive backs — since Eberflus took over. They’ve used more man coverage and pressed a little more. That’s probably a small part of the success on third down, which was a disaster last year and through the first month of this season.

“Overall, it’s just the guys that are coming together,” cornerback Jaylon Johnson said. “I don’t think that he’s really changed too much. The plan, the mission has been the same. I know we made some adjustments on third down but I feel like other than that, just the attitude of the guys, the execution that we’re playing at is a lot different these last few games.”

Linebackers Tremaine Edmunds and T.J. Edwards are fitting in nicely and playing off the linemen, a big reason why the defense ranks fifth in run defense allowing 82.3 yards per game, nearly half from a year ago at 157.3. Is much as the Bears were hammered for not stopping the run in 2022, this is a significant improvement, and nose tackle Andrew Billings has been a positive addition.

Injuries throughout the secondary — and the lack of a pass rush — are primary reasons the defense is allowing 257.1 passing yards per game, 29th in the league. There’s room for improvement, and the Bears are encouraged by the development of rookie cornerback Tyrique Stevenson knowing he’s going to have ups and downs playing on an island.

Rookie tackles Gervon Dexter and Zacch Pickens haven’t provided a lot for the pass rush and that is an area to keep an eye on in the second half of the season. Can they begin to make more plays as they gain experience?

The Chargers with Herbert, wide receiver Keenan Allen and running back Austin Ekeler present a good challenge to see if a young defense can continue to perform at a consistent level, which would be a positive sign especially with how the schedule for the remainder of the season sets up.

“I would just say it’s really teamwork,” Eberflus said. “Really is. Working together, having that continuity. I believe getting the secondary pieces back really helps us in terms of coverage variation, matchups, being able to process through that as coaches and players. We’re just working through that.”

Scouting report

Quentin Johnston, Chargers wide receiver

Information for this report was obtained from NFL scouts.

Quentin Johnston, 6-foot-4, 215 pounds, is in his first season after the Chargers selected him with the No. 21 pick out of TCU. Johnston caught 60 passes for 1,069 yards, 17.8 average) and six touchdowns last season and two years after setting a Big 12 Conference record by averaging 22.1 yards per catch.

The rookie is off to a slow start as he has only seven receptions on 15 targets for 64 yards. He has only two catches for 38 yards over the last three games as the Chargers seek a replacement for Mike Williams, who is out for the season after suffering a torn ACL in his left knee.

“They drafted him because (offensive coordinator) Kellen Moore came in and the biggest thing I saw, they had this quarterback with rare physical tools who they made into a West Coast thrower,” the scout said. “Unders, ball out quick, using some boot, some play action, attacking the middle of the field. They were not explosive enough because you have Keenan Allen. He’s like the next Larry Fitzgerald. He can get open, make plays for you, move the sticks. Elite coverage awareness but not an explosive player. Mike Williams, contrary to everyone’s opinion, is a boundary X who is not an explosive player. He’s a fade-ball guy. They needed someone who can catch the ball on a fade route and go to the house, someone who can run a deep in route and run away from coverage. They needed someone who can catch a wide receiver screen and run through people.

“That’s why they drafted Johnson. He has the physical profile to be that player, but if you go back to his college tape, lot of drops, very raw as a route runner and played in the Big 12, where he saw a lot of basic coverages and presnap you know exactly what you are getting. I think he has struggled in the NFL because he lacks coverage awareness. He’s finding out he can’t just win with physical tools. And there is an issue right now, even when they scheme for him, they can’t get him to produce. They’ve gone from being that explosive offense they want to be to being what they were last year. Don’t want to kill the kid seven games in or compare him to Jordan Addison and Jaxon Smith-Njigba, but the production is not there. Great example of, ‘We’ll draft the traits and figure it out later.’ They haven’t figured it out yet.”

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As the midpoint of the season approaches, will they continue to display the kind of dynamic and explosive offense they showed in a blowout win over the Detroit Lions, or will they regress, as has sometimes been the case? What about wide receivers Odell Beckham Jr. and Rashod Bateman, who have 14 and 12 catches apiece for 162 and 118 yards, respectively, but have yet to find the end zone? The defense has been elite, allowing an NFL-low 13.9 points per game while racking up a league-high 29 sacks, but can they continue to get to the quarterback?

We dive into these and other pressing questions as the Ravens approach the second half of the season.

We’ve seen the Ravens at their best (vs. Lions) and at their worst (at Steelers). What’s your assessment of this team after seven games?

Brian Wacker: The Ravens are much closer to the team they were against the Lions than they were against the Steelers. For all their inconsistencies, miscommunications and habit of playing down to lesser opponents, it’s important to remember they had a number of injuries through the first handful of games, notably in the secondary and on the offensive line, and that almost none of the offense played in the preseason, meaning it was always going to take time for them to jell.

Baltimore’s defense is also performing at an elite level and figures to only get better as the season goes on. Inside linebackers Roquan Smith and Patrick Queen are a formidable duo and Justin Madubuike has already matched his career high in sacks for a season.

Now largely healthy, if the Ravens can stay that way and continue to build on offense, quarterback Lamar Jackson will be in the conversation for a second NFL Most Valuable Player award.

Childs Walker: The Ravens aren’t as good as they looked Sunday, but then, no one is. Aaron Schatz of FTN Fantasy noted that by his DVOA measure of team efficiency, their performance against Detroit was the 14th-best in a single game since 1981. The Ravens are more that team, however, than the one we saw tossing away a lead against the offensively challenged Steelers. They’ve outplayed each of their seven opponents and could easily be 7-0 despite hiccups in the second half and in the red zone. Their defense has performed remarkably well in the face of injuries to key players, and their offense was, as tight end Mark Andrews said, a sleeping giant before it awoke fully against the Lions.

Logic always said the Ravens would be a work in progress through the early part of the season. Their best players did not suit up together until the season opener, they needed time to master coordinator Todd Monken’s offense, and a barrage of early injuries did not help. We saw similar stumbles before they took off in 2019, Lamar Jackson’s first full season as starting quarterback. If their injury luck holds, they’ll be formidable the rest of the way.

The Ravens lead the league in sacks despite missing Odafe Oweh and David Ojabo for most of the season. Will they finish the season No. 1?

Brian Wacker: It seems unlikely, especially given the back half of their schedule, but they’ll still finish near the top of the league in sacks. Defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald has done a masterful job of disguising looks, utilizing stunts and bringing pressure from unexpected places to create chaos. Madubuike, as mentioned, is having a monster season in a contract year. But not having an elite edge rusher who racks up double-digit sacks will keep them from finishing No. 1.

Childs Walker: No. Their pressure rate is more middle of the pack than elite, and they’re still lacking an edge rusher who will consistently beat his blocker one-on-one. They have good pass rushers all over the field, and Macdonald, a hot name on lists of potential head coaches, is adept at giving them free runs at the quarterback using stunts, simulated pressures and other nifty tricks. But the Philadelphia Eagles, Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins are generating so many more pressures that it’s hard to imagine one of them will not surpass the Ravens on the sacks chart.

Odell Beckham Jr. and Rashod Bateman have offered very little production thus far. Should the Ravens be concerned?

Brian Wacker: No. Beckham turns 31 on Nov. 5 and was never going to put up consistently big numbers, especially with so many other targets to feed like rookie wide receiver Zay Flowers, tight end Mark Andrews, Bateman and others. Still, he has elite hands, is capable of the occasional big play and brings a wealth of knowledge to the room. Bateman’s injury history and occasional lack of involvement would perhaps be a bit more concerning, but aside from a dropped touchdown against the Steelers has performed well when given the opportunity. The key is keeping him engaged and taking advantage of his speed and playmaking.

Childs Walker: The Ravens knew there was considerable risk built into their plan at wide receiver, so they can’t be shocked Beckham and Bateman have already missed time. Beckham exceeded expectations in training camp and has played well enough when healthy. In 2021, he was a postseason standout for the Los Angeles Rams after a modestly productive regular season. The Ravens would be just fine with him following the same formula this season. Bateman is more concerning because he’s midway through his third year and has yet to enjoy an extended stretch of good health and good production. He can’t control the injuries but needs to be more consistent with his hands when opportunities come. That said, he looked good against the Lions and has done a nice job adding value as a chip blocker.

The trade deadline is Tuesday. Which positions could use help, and who should the Ravens target?

Brian Wacker: Even though the Ravens lead the league in sacks, they lack the kind of edge rusher who is an every week difference maker that opponents have to scheme against. Danielle Hunter would be an obvious one, but impactful pass rushers are also costly. The Ravens have managed to be one of the league’s best defenses without one, though surely they would like one. Likewise, a lockdown outside cornerback would upgrade the secondary and allow Marlon Humphrey to work more inside as needed, but that would again be costly in terms of capital.

The best option would be adding a difference-making running back. Justice Hill and Gus Edwards have done a more than admirable job carrying the load after the Ravens lost J.K. Dobbins to a season-ending torn Achilles tendon, but the Titans’ Derrick Henry or Raiders’ Josh Jacobs, both of whom would be happy to play elsewhere, have the ability to rip off big chunk runs that would elevate the offense to another level.

Childs Walker: Pass rushers are the stars of this deadline. As well as Jadeveon Clowney and Kyle Van Noy have played, the Ravens could use another one. Are Danielle Hunter, Brian Burns and Chase Young actually available? It’s probably best to be skeptical, though Carl Lawson, who has fallen down the New York Jets’ depth chart, could be a value play.

The Ravens’ secondary has wildly exceeded expectations, but general manager Eric DeCosta likes to say he can never have enough cornerback depth. Might he try for another big splash with the Chicago Bears, who have an excellent young cover corner, Jaylon Johnson, on the last year of his rookie deal? Johnson would give the Ravens an immediate upgrade, much as Marcus Peters did in 2019.

Justin Madubuike, Patrick Queen, Geno Stone and J.K. Dobbins are among a long list of pending free agents in 2024. As of right now, who should the Ravens prioritize re-signing?

Brian Wacker: Assuming they’ll only be able to keep one given impending salary cap restraints, Madubuike is the one they can least afford to lose for the simple reason that they already have a stud inside linebacker in Roquan Smith and a talented safety group in Kyle Hamilton and Marcus Williams.

DeCosta has said he’d like to keep Queen, and maybe there will be a way to do it, but Madubuike is in the midst of a breakout season at a position where it’s not easy to find the kind of production and impact he’s having.

As for Dobbins, that’s a bit murkier. He’s had two major injuries, and the free agent running back market is brutal.

Childs Walker: If they had to pick one, Madubuike, because they don’t another player in the building with his skill set. Part of the reason they’re rolling up sacks without a superstar on the edge is Madubuike’s productivity on the interior. He has improved every season, and there simply aren’t a ton of defensive tackles capable of reaching double-digit sacks. Losing Queen would hurt, because he and Roquan Smith give the defense its special identity, but Smith would still be around to take on an understudy. Stone is pumping up his market value, but the Ravens might be able to re-sign him and one of Madubuike or Queen. As for Dobbins, it’s difficult to see him or the Ravens making a move before the offseason, when his health outlook will be clearer.

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Mike McDaniel’s offense out-flanked and out-gunned Bill Belichick’s defense. The Dolphins dictated terms to the Pats offense at the line of scrimmage. All of this took place Sunday, but Miami laid the foundation for its sixth win in the last seven series meetings during the last few offseasons.

Over the last three years, the Dolphins successfully stockpiled talent in a way the Patriots have failed to for years. That talent gap manifested in a flexibility and crucial margin for error Sunday.

Despite missing four starting offensive linemen for most of the game, the Dolphins passed at will; short, intermediate or long, to the left, right or over the middle. Whatever they wanted. Tua Tagovailoa flipped a bad first-half interception, just like Mac Jones, yet knew he could still comfortably control the game in a double-digit win.

Why?

Because Tagovailoa knew his defense, stocked with Pro Bowlers and former first-round picks, would buy him time. Not that his offense needs it. The Dolphins scored the very next drive after Tagovailoa’s pick, when he launched a 42-yard bomb to Tyreek Hill, and eventually out-gained the Pats by almost a 2:1 ratio.

But for the Patriots offense, life is hard. Everything takes time and demands precision. Their talent leaves them no optionality, no margin for error.

The entire passing game consists of short to intermediate throws. They generate no explosive runs. They have no Plan B.

Against them, Miami’s defense had the luxury of shutting off one side of the field by parking new All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey on Jones’ left basically all day. By game’s end, Jones had completed as many passes in that direction to Ramsey as he did his teammates. His interception led directly to a 10-point deficit, a death knell for the Patriots.

Defensively, the Pats’ talent disadvantage left them at Miami’s mercy. Hill and Jaylen Waddle pull coverage toward them pre-and post-snap, motioning at the highest rates in the league. Defending the Dolphins means changing on the move, on their time and at their speed.

So, the Patriots majored in basic zone coverage. They hardly blitzed. They played basic, static defenses on early downs; the same formula most Miami opponents have followed.

And yet the stress of keeping up with the Dolphins’ speed ultimately broke them in the final minutes, when Waddle coasted to a 31-yard touchdown with no defender in sight. The score clinched Miami’s fourth win of 14 points or more this season alone. The talent-starved Patriots have four of those, too — in the last year and a half.

Leveling this division series, which has become as lopsided as most any in the AFC the last few years, will require matching Miami’s talent in the coming offseasons. That, of course, will take time.

For now, the Pats can address these problems as they play out a lost year without wondering why they lost again on Sunday:

Mac Jones

19-of-29 for 161 yards, 2 TDs, INT

Accurate throw percentage: 70.4%

Under pressure: 2-of-8 for 26 yards, 3 sacks

Against the blitz: 1-of-2, 2 yards

Behind the line: 6-of-6 for 20 yards

0-9 yards downfield: 10-of-13 for 77 yards, TD

10-19 yards downfield: 3-of-8 for 64 yards, TD, INT

20+ yards downfield: N/A

Notes: Blah.

Jones did little to power a winning effort Sunday, hitting just one tight-window throw and declining to rip a single deep pass for a second straight game. As always, he proved sharp underneath, which sustained the Patriots the week before against the Bills (when he was also appreciably more accurate). There were three major differences between those outings: Jones had more time (posting a 2.2 second snap-to-throw average versus Buffalo and 2.51 at Miami), more injured receivers and a big, bad interception before halftime.

Jones grossly overestimated his arm talent in that moment, skying a 19-yard, cross-field throw a half-beat too late against future Hall of Fame cornerback Jalen Ramsey. The interception represented at least a 6-point swing, possibly 10.

Jones even had a chance to atone at the start of the third quarter, when Miami gifted the Patriots a fumble on first play from scrimmage. But standing at the Dolphins’ 14, Jones took a third-down sack after staring down Rhamondre Stevenson in the flat, while Demario Douglas found open space across the back of the end zone for a possible touchdown.

It’s a tough balance. Jones knows he often has little time behind a porous offensive line, so jumping at checkdowns to Stevenson makes sense. No NFL quarterback is envious of his current situation.

But failing to keep defenses honest downfield for multiple series, and now games, allows opponents to play downhill and squeeze routes underneath. It’s a tightrope walk every week for Jones and this offense. Jones crossed safely last week against the Bills.

He fell off Sunday.

Critical areas

• Turnovers: Patriots 2, Dolphins 2
• Explosive play rate: Patriots 5.9%, Dolphins 6.8%
• Success rate: Patriots 38%, Dolphins 43%
• Red-zone efficiency: Patriots 1-2, Dolphins 2-4
• Defensive pressure rate: Patriots 16.7%, Dolphins 31.2%

Offense

Game plan

• Personnel breakdown: 77% of snaps in 11 personnel, 23% snaps in 12 personnel.***
• Personnel production: 4.3 yards/play in 11 personnel, 5.6 yards/play in 12 personnel.
• First-down down play-calls: 67% pass (4.9 yards per play), 33% run (2.3 yards per play)
• Play-action rate: 25%

Player stats

• Broken tackles: RB Rhamondre Stevenson 3, RB Ezekiel Elliott 2
• Pressure allowed: LT Trent Brown 4 (3 QB hits, hurry), C David Andrews (sack), RG Mike Onwenu (sack), LG Cole Strange (hurry), RG Atonio Mafi (hurry), QB Mac Jones (sack), Team (hurry)
• Run stuffs allowed: TE Hunter Henry, TE Pharaoh Brown
• Penalties: Mafi (ineligible man downfield), WR Kendrick Bourne (holding), WR JuJu Smith-Schuster (unsportsmanlike conduct), LS Joe Cardona (false start on punt)
• Drops: None

Notes

• After trying to pound the Dolphins with heavy personnel in Week 2, the Patriots pivoted to a spread game plan that emphasized pre-snap motion.
• Bill O’Brien called for motion on more than 62% of his play-calls, including 35% with a receiver in motion at the snap. This represented huge departures for the Pats, who recently ranked near the bottom of the league in motion usage at the snap two weeks ago, but have since made it a staple of recent game plans.
• The results of O’Brien’s motion-heavy plan were meager —17 points and a 4.3 yards per play average with motion (same as their average on all plays) — but pre-snap activity did spark both touchdowns. More on that later.
• The Patriots’ chief problems in Miami were the same as always: an ill-timed Mac Jones turnover that handed the opponent points, and an inability to overcome minor adversity. The offense scored on one of its seven drives that included a negative play.
• How did that happen? The Dolphins controlled the line of scrimmage, allowing 0.7 rushing yards before contact and creating havoc with a stunts and other defensive line movement on passing downs that reached Jones on roughly one-third of his snaps basically without blitzing.
• Miami targeted left guard Cole Strange on a couple stunts and blitzed linebackers up the middle, while they dropped outside linebackers into coverage.

• Rookie guard Atonio Mafi, who rotated with starting right guard Sidy Sow, again proved to be a weak link. Left tackle Trent Brown also allowed a season-worst four pressures, hampered by ankle and knee injuries. Center David Andrews and right tackle Mike Onwenu each surrendered a sack.
• As they bullied the Pats up front, the Dolphins dominated first down, when they allowed 2.3 yards per carry and forced Jones to go 4-of-7 for 13 yards and an interception in the first half.
• Trailing 17-7 at halftime, the Patriots received a golden red-zone opportunity to score after the Dolphins lost a fumble on their opening play of the half. Instead of marching forward, the offense gained five yards on two RPOs and Jones took a 6-yard sack after holding the ball for 3.5 seconds.
• Down by 14 in the fourth quarter, the Patriots sustained their longest possession by rushing for 38 yards on a defense willing to wind clock, and hitting tight end Hunter Henry on two out-breaking routes that covered 24 yards.
• Henry and Mike Gesicki should have seen far more than six measly targets, considering Miami entered kickoff as a bottom-5 defense against tight ends by DVOA.
• Rhamondre Stevenson continues to look like a lesser version of himself, excluding one powerful second-quarter run where he broke two tackles.
• Finally, the motion. The Patriots scored their first touchdown by sending Demario Douglas left to right across the formation before a third-and-4 snap, which forced his defender, backup corner Justin Bethel, to follow. That told Jones that Miami was in man-to-man coverage.
• Once Douglas aligned outside of Kendrick Bourne, the Dolphins’ defensive rules dictated Bethel switch onto Bourne, now the nearest receiver to him, instead of chasing Douglas all the way across. This created a mismatch for Bourne, the Patriots’ best receiver.

• At the snap, Miami double-teamed Douglas, who drew the nearest safety closer to the line of scrimmage. Once Bourne cut in front of Bethel and ran into open space over the middle, Jones found him for an easy 24-yard catch-and-run touchdown.
• Without Douglas’ pre-snap motion, the Patriots don’t force that switch, and Jones may not have detected man-to-man.
• Later, motion sprung JuJu Smith-Schuster free for his lone highlight of the season, a 3-yard touchdown catch on fourth-and-goal. He whipped into the right flat at the snap and triggered a common pick-route combination.
• This is the essence of the Patriots offense: repeating basic plays that allow Jones to unload the ball quickly and attack space within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage. O’Brien’s job week to week is essentially figuring out how he can package these same few dozen concepts in new ways to run them again.
• This is why motion is now so vital. The Patriots can’t create mismatches organically,  and motion is among the tools that helps them dress these concepts up and stresses defenses.
• In Miami, plays involving motion at the snap averaged 4.7 yards per play and a 53% success rate, up from the Patriots’ overall numbers of 4.3 yards rate of 38%. Through two weeks, the Pats have used more motion, created more mismatches and more defensive stress scored more points. Keep it going.

Defense

Game plan

• Personnel breakdown: 50% three-safety nickel package, 39% dime, 10% three-corner nickel, 1% base.****
• Coverage snaps breakdown: 74%% zone, 26% man
• Blitz rate: 16.7%
• Blitz efficacy: 8.9 yards allowed per dropback, 44% success rate allowed

Player stats

• Interceptions: S Kyle Dugger
• Pass deflections: CB J.C. Jackson 2, CB Jack Jones, CB Jonathan Jones, LB Jahlani Tavai
• Pressure: Dugger 2 (sack, hurry), Tavai 2 (2 hurries), DL Christian Barmore (sack), DL Keion White (hurry), OLB Anfernee Jennings (hurry)
• Run stuffs: S Jabrill Peppers, LB Mack Wilson, White
• Missed tackles: Peppers, Dugger, Jennings, White,
• Penalties: Jackson (pass interference), CB Jack Jones (neutral zone infraction), DL Davon Godchaux (holding)

Notes

• Stealing from the Eagles’ win over Miami the week before, the Patriots opened in a 3-4 front and lived out of Cover 2 and Cover 3. Their goal was to force Tua Tagovailoa to march patiently downfield, limit vertical routes and rally to short crossing routes.
• Early on, they succeeded, thanks to a Dolphins run game sapped of most of its power due to O-line injuries. Miami suffered a negative play on each of its first two drives (a Jabrill Peppers run-stuff and Christian Barmore sack), thanks to this O-line.
• Kyle Dugger ended Miami’s second drive with an interception on third-and-15. The Patriots showed a two-deep shell pre-snap, then morphed into Cover 3 Buzz, a single-high defense that dropped Peppers and Dugger over the middle at the line to gain, while fellow safety Jalen Mills covered the deep middle.

• Tagovailoa carelessly flung that ball for Hill down the right seam, where Dugger was waiting. From their scouting efforts, the Patriots knew Miami loves to target receivers in the space between the numbers and hashes.
• Pivoting, the Dolphins spent most of the next drive attacking the flats with play-action passes and perimeter runs. The Patriots defended most flat throws by having their edge defenders “peel” and run with running backs or receivers in that area so their defensive backs could stay deep.
• At midfield, another play-action pass caused cornerback J.C. Jackson to step up against Hill, who zoomed by him and rookie safety/linebacker Marte Mapu for a touchdown.
• The Patriots had called a version of Cover 4, a defense where both outside cornerbacks and both safeties are responsible for covering a deep fourth of the field. Hill’s speed served as another reminder he’s the most dangerous weapon in the league.
• Miami then stuck with its play-action and flat-focused formula on the next series, even overcoming a second-down Dugger sack. Facing third-and-14 at the Patriots’ 21, coach Mike McDaniel called consecutive screens, successfully predicting an incoming Patriots blitz in the high red zone and then again on fourth-and-1. The Patriots have a high blitz tendency in that area and down-and-distance.
• To cap the drive, Tagovailoa targeted Jackson three straight times inside the 10 and scored on a 1-yard toss to Cedrick Wilson Jr. Miami clearly saw value in targeting Jackson.
• On that touchdown, the Dolphins used the same pre-snap motion that led to a goal-line touchdown pass to Hill in Week 2, but flipped the route from the right side to the left and called for a slant for Wilson Jr. instead of an out. Another McDaniel win over Belichick.

• Little changed for either side over the middle quarters, when the Dolphins added a field goal before the half and another touchdown after marching 77 yards in nine plays. The Patriots did send a double-team at Hill in the red zone and on third down to help Jackson.
• Defensive play-caller Steve Belichick also backed off the blitz and went lighter on the final drive to best protect against the pass. The Pats gambled by deploying dime personnel (six defensive backs), hoping to slow Miami’s passing game and offer enough resistance against the run.
• Instead, the Dolphins accepted the dare to run and averaged almost six yards per carry on its last scoring drive on four hand-offs. Miami also drained 5:37 of the last eight and a half minutes, before Waddle exploited a communication breakdown in coverage on third-and-1 that knocked the Pats out with a 31-yard touchdown.

• Judging how the Patriots handled that motion and concept on Miami’s opening drive, it appears Jack Jones was at least partially at fault when he followed Tyreek Hill completely across the formation instead of switching onto Waddle in the slot.
• On Miami’s opening drive, Myles Bryant followed Hill until he reached the slot, then covered Waddle. The Patriots’ outside corner on that side then, J.C. Jackson, covered Hill, just as Jonathan Jones did during the first possession. This allowed the Pats to maintain leverage against two of the fastest receivers in the league.

• Nice game for second-round rookie defensive lineman Keion White. He was the only defender to record a pressure and a run stuff.

Studs

S Kyle Dugger

An interception, one sack and a hurry. Even if Dugger was at fault on Miami’s knockout touchdown in the fourth quarter, he kept the Patriots within relative reach as much as anyone.

LB Jahlani Tavai

Tavai continues to wear as many hats as any player on Belichick’s defense. He tallied two hurries and a pass breakup.

Duds

CB J.C. Jackson

The Dolphins picked on Jackson like a little brother who went unpunished for a successful prank. With all that attention, he allowed two touchdowns and committed pass interference.

LT Trent Brown

He fought through ankle and knee injuries, which must be factored here. But four allowed is a bad day at the office for any offensive lineman.

Statistics for passing depth, broken tackles and missed tackles courtesy of Pro Football Focus.

*Explosive plays are defined as runs of 12-plus yards and passes of 20-plus yards.

**Success rate is an efficiency metric measuring how often an offense stays on schedule. A play is successful when it gains at least 40% of yards-to-go on first down, 60% of yards-to-go on second down and 100% of yards-to-go on third or fourth down.

***11 personnel = one running back, one tight end; 12 personnel = one running back, two tight ends.  

****Base defense = four defensive backs; nickel defense = five defensive backs; dime defense = six defensive backs.

Baltimore is built to win now, which is why now would also be a good time to go in on the kind of blockbuster, difference-making trade by Tuesday’s 4 p.m. deadline that would push the organization to the precipice of a real shot at its third championship and first since the 2012 season.

Despite all their various impressive numbers the Ravens have been consistently inconsistent, enduring uneven performances on both sides of the ball. Strengthening the roster in a significant way would likely help solve that issue and elevate them into the league’s upper echelon.

Just up I-95, Philadelphia Eagles general manager Howie Roseman already made a splashy move by trading for Titans All-Pro safety Kevin Byard ahead of the deadline. Last year, the Eagles were in the Super Bowl, and at 7-1 are favorites to get back there with moves like this. Byard’s 27 interceptions since 2016 are the most in the NFL.

“Do we have a specific need, a have-to-have guy? No,” coach John Harbaugh said Monday. “I think we have everything we need to be successful.

“At the same time, if an opportunity came to bring in somebody that can help us, make us better in any area, certain areas more than others, and we could do it in a way that was affordable to the team, cap-wise, draft pick-wise, you would do it. That’s where we’re at right now.”

The NFL trade deadline isn’t like the NBA’s or MLB’s, with an action-packed barrage of moves during which multiple superstars change zip codes. Still, there are deals to be done. Last year, 11 trades occurred on deadline day, which was more than twice as many as any year since 2010, according to the league.

One of them sent inside linebacker Roquan Smith to the Ravens, with Baltimore sending the Chicago Bears its 2023 second- and fifth-round picks as well as veteran linebacker A.J. Klein. Smith, who was in the final year of his contract when the deal was made but re-signed for five years and $100 million in January, is the Ravens’ leading tackler this season, has helped them ascend to being the league’s best defense by any number of metrics and is the team’s vocal leader on the field and in the locker room.

In 2019, the Ravens landed ball-hawking cornerback Marcus Peters from the Rams in exchange for linebacker Kenny Young and a 2020 fifth-round pick. Peters never quite recaptured the success he had earlier in his career, and he suffered a torn ACL in 2021, but the veteran was still highly productive and disruptive with eight interceptions, including two he returned for touchdowns, in 37 regular-season games with Baltimore. His interception of Ryan Tannehill late in the game against the Tennessee Titans in the 2021 wild-card round also helped seal Baltimore’s 20-13 postseason victory.

Of course, not all the deals general manager Eric DeCosta has made have panned out.

Three years ago, the Ravens traded a 2021 third-round pick and 2022 fifth-round pick to the Minnesota Vikings for outside linebacker Yannick Ngakoue. He started just three of nine games, though, and finished with three sacks before moving on after the season to the Las Vegas Raiders, for whom he had 10 sacks in 2021.

In 2018, Baltimore traded with the Green Bay Packers for running back Ty Montgomery. It only cost them a 2020 seventh-round pick, but Montgomery also played in just six games and contributed sparingly before moving on.

Who might DeCosta look to land on deadline day this year?

The most glaring needs are at edge rusher and running back. Though the Ravens brought in veterans Jadeveon Clowney and Kyle Van Noy this season and both have been more than adequately productive, they are 30 and 32 years old, respectively, and neither is an elite, double-digit sacks pass rusher. And while Justice Hill and Gus Edwards have done a nice job since J.K. Dobbins suffered a season-ending torn Achilles tendon in Week 1, neither is a game-breaking back.

Baltimore also has the capital to make a move.

The Ravens currently have eight picks in April’s draft, with one pick through each of the first five rounds, plus their own seventh-round pick. They also have the Jets’ seventh-rounder from the Chuck Clark trade and will likely get a compensatory fourth-round pick after left guard Ben Powers signed with the Denver Broncos in free agency in the offseason. Baltimore also has seven picks in the 2025 draft.

In terms of the salary cap, Baltimore currently has $2.8 million in space, but that number increases each week outside linebacker Tyus Bowser, long snapper Nick Moore and rookie offensive lineman Andrew Vorhees remain on the non-football injury list. Moore and Vorhees are out for the season. The Ravens can also get creative by restructuring contracts to create much more cap space.

Here’s a look at some possibilities:

Tennessee Titans RB Derrick Henry

Henry (8,861 career yards, 4.7 yards per carry, 81 touchdowns) is the type of back who would have an immediate impact and be a major upgrade. But the Titans have said they don’t plan to deal the likely future Hall of Famer, and Henry, who had 101 yards rushing in the Titans’ win over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, said he’s happy to stay with Tennessee. The deadline for the three-time Pro Bowl selection and two-time NFL leading rusher to restructure his contract by Monday at 5 p.m. also came and went, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, meaning he still has $5.5 million left on his deal and thus casting a significant blow to the chances the Ravens land him.

Las Vegas Raiders RB Josh Jacobs

Strangely, Jacobs’ name hasn’t been heard much if at all as far as trade rumors. Perhaps it’s because he’s averaging just 2.9 yards per carry, or it’s because the Raiders (3-4) are holding out hope of somehow making the playoffs. But the 25-year-old is versatile, had a career 4.4-yard average before this season and is a free agent after the year. His agent, Chad Wiestling, is also a Baltimore guy.

Indianapolis Colts RB Zack Moss

The 5-foot-9, 205-pound Moss did a nice job filling in for Jonathan Taylor while he was on the physically-unable-to-perform list before Taylor signed an extension to stay with the Colts. In seven games, five of them starts, Moss has rushed for 589 yards and five touchdowns while averaging 4.6 yards per carry. He’s also caught 16 passes for 123 yards and another score, which again speaks to the kind of back that would fit in the Ravens’ system.

Minnesota Vikings OLB Danielle Hunter

Hunter leads the NFL in sacks with 10 and would fit right in with the Ravens, who have more sacks (31) than any other team in the league despite only one player (defensive tackle Justin Maduibuike, 6 1/2 sacks) having more than 3 1/2. The room could also get very crowded with Odafe Oweh back from injury and playing well and the possibility that David Ojabo and Tyus Bowser could still return, too. Still, Hunter is the best pass rusher out there, would be a big boost to a group that’s already been very good and be the kind of difference-maker that gets Baltimore to the Super Bowl.

What will the Ravens ultimately do? Harbaugh said he met with DeCosta before his weekly Monday afternoon news conference and the two talked about potential options.

“It’s a possibility,” Harbaugh said of a deadline day deal without elaborating. “It’s not easy making trades in this league.

“If there’s one to be made that will help us, I’m sure he’ll pull it off. If not, we’ll be happy with what we have because we have a great team.”

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In the process, they also will look in the mirror and see what the rest of the football world witnessed on the “Sunday Night Football” stage in Week 8, which is an inconsistent and error-prone team that couldn’t stay competitive and was throttled from start to finish by the Los Angeles Chargers.

The score was 30-13, but it really wasn’t that close. The Chargers took the lead for good midway through the first quarter, extended their advantage to 17 points by halftime and coasted through the second half.

Inside a glum visitors locker room, the Bears were again left to process their disappointment. It wasn’t just that they suffered their sixth loss in eight games this season and haven’t won consecutive games in the Ryan Poles-Matt Eberflus era. And it’s not just that the embarrassment was way too familiar — the Bears have now lost seven consecutive Sunday night games by an average score of 31-15.

More than anything, it’s that the entire night was a blooper reel of sloppy penalties and dropped passes and missed tackles and costly turnovers.

Spin the wheel. Where would you like to start?

With Tyson Bagent’s second-quarter interception on a pass to the left that sailed over Darnell Mooney’s head but never made it anywhere close to intended receiver DJ Moore? It turns out Moore had an option on his route based on the coverage the Chargers showed and made the correct decision to take his pattern deeper up the sideline while his quarterback expected he would run a hitch.

“A little miscommunication,” Bagent said. “But that was completely on me. I just have to get off that (route) and continue to go through my progressions.”

Stuff happens, right? And on some nights, the stuff is everywhere.

Should we go next to the Chargers’ third and final touchdown of an explosive first half, the one that came with 4 seconds remaining when quarterback Justin Herbert found tight end Donald Parham Jr. underneath? The Bears were in position to stifle that play, to take Parham down and force the Chargers to settle for a field goal. Instead, rookie cornerback Tyrique Stevenson missed a tackle and veteran linebacker T.J. Edwards did the same.

Just like that, the Chargers finished off a 75-yard touchdown drive and a first half in which they scored on all four possessions.

“I’ve got to get back out there this week and work on tackling to get better,” Stevenson said. “That one definitely bothered me.”

Added linebacker Tremaine Edmunds: “That one hurt. Especially knowing they were about to get the ball again coming out in the second half with the ability to double-dip. That was a worst-case scenario.”

Maybe we veer next to the 40-yard touchdown catch Velus Jones Jr. should have made, only to lose his footing, fall, then juggle and drop the football in the end zone.

Explanation?

“I looked back for the ball,” Jones said. “(It was) a little bit underthrown. So I started working back to the ball as I was running, trying to track it, and I lost my footing — because I was running back to it at an angle and I almost ran past it. So I tried to stop and I slipped.”

Jones shook his head in disbelief.

“It’s not an excuse,” he added. “It was a catchable ball. And I had it. It’s really devastating. When you prepare all week in practice and put in all the extra work that’s needed and you catch a ball like that 100 times after practice, and it’s in that small window of opportunity to show what you can do and it doesn’t happen for you.”

Sure, the Bears still squeezed a touchdown out of that possession. But that was another example of the sloppiness that plagued this team in yet another discouraging defeat, another moment the Bears failed to meet.

Bagent’s second interception wasn’t nearly as egregious, a fourth-and-3 shot to Mooney over the middle in the fourth quarter. That pass hit Mooney’s hands but squirted into the air when he was immediately popped by Chargers safety Alohi Gilman. Derwin James was there to collect that Bears turnover, and Mooney was left after the game to collect his thoughts on the sequence.

“Did you guys feel like I dropped that one?” he asked a group of reporters at his locker. “I saw the safety coming down and I felt like I grabbed it. But it was just a bang-bang play.”

Mooney vowed to give a more thorough review after he studies the video.

“I’m looking for the answers,” he said. “So if it looked like I dropped it, then … I felt like I had it and immediately when I got it, boom.”

These are the last-place Bears right now, still shaky, still reeling and still bothered by this entire experience. So much for the momentum that seemed to build during a Week 7 blowout of the Las Vegas Raiders at Soldier Field. That team sure didn’t seem like the one that played Sunday night.

The Bears struggled to establish a running game and finished with only 73 yards on 25 attempts, with tight end Cole Kmet wondering why there wasn’t a winning level of nastiness in that department.

“I just didn’t feel it like I did last week against the Raiders,” Kmet said. “I know that one was a really good performance. But that edge we usually have in the run game? I didn’t feel like it was there this week.”

The Bears defense, meanwhile, had no answers for Herbert, who spread 31 completions around to eight receivers on his way to 298 yards and three touchdowns. He never was sacked and was hit only two times. And his first incompletion didn’t come until 8:55 remained in the first half, after he had hit his first 15 attempts.

By that point the Chargers were in range to turn the first of three Cameron Dicker field goals into a dominant 17-0 lead.

“(Herbert) made a lot of plays today,” Stevenson said. “It’s just his arm strength, man. He’s an excellent quarterback making all the throws he should.”

Added Edwards: “That’s a guy who has been a really good player in this league for a while now. This was nothing too surprising. He makes all the right reads. He’s a really strong dude. And we have to find a better way to make plays when they come to us.”

That didn’t happen Sunday, with the Chargers taking their first two drives for touchdowns while facing only two third downs.

As if all that wasn’t enough, the Bears played without starting safeties Jaquan Brisker and Eddie Jackson, leaving Elijah Hicks and Duron Harmon to man the back end of the defense. Brisker was left home in Chicago with what the team has labeled an illness. And while Jackson was active Sunday, he suited up only in case of an emergency because of his nagging left foot injury.

Adding to the woe, Edmunds suffered a right knee injury early in the second half that will require additional medical testing and could sideline him for multiple games. If that turns out to be the case, it would be another key subtraction from a team that continues to be followed by a cloud of misfortune.

The Bears, now 2-6 and again staring into the abyss of irrelevance, will play two more games over the next 11 days. They will continue to search for answers and consistency and some kind of winning formula.

But with Sunday night’s fizzle a sobering reminder, there’s no guarantee they will find any of those things.

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A weekend of listening to NBC “Sunday Night Football” analyst Cris Collinsworth and his soundalike son, Jac, will do that. Both are competent announcers but are best used in limited doses. Jac’s ascension to play-by-play man for Notre Dame home games on NBC makes a Collinsworth family weekend inevitable for some of us, and too much Collinsworth is seldom a good thing.

It was almost a given that Cris Collinsworth would spend most of Sunday night talking about quarterback Tyson Bagent, the only Bears player remotely worth discussing. This was a dog game on the “SNF” schedule, one of those unfortunate occurrences that happens whenever some TV executive thinks the Bears have turned a corner.

You would think they have learned their lesson by now. According to Tribune reporter Dan Wiederer, the Bears have lost seven straight Sunday night games by an average score of 31-15. This is not a Ryan Poles problem but a McCaskey thing.

To hammer home the dog matchup, NBC even used a double box in the fourth quarter with an actual dog food commercial on one half of the screen and Bears coach Matt Eberflus walking up and down the sideline trying to fire up his players on the other half.

It was almost as if NBC had a sense of humor about the Bears’ plight, though the network certainly hoped you wouldn’t notice it showing the same ad during every commercial break about an absent-minded dad forgetting to lock his car.

I wasn’t among those offended by the “needle in a haystack” narrative surrounding Bagent, the undrafted rookie from Division II Shepherd who was now on the big stage of “Sunday Night Football.” It’s a story we’re all familiar with in Chicago, but not everyone watching around the world follows a team that recently ended a 14-game losing streak.

And I anxiously awaited the meme-worthy graphic showing the number of Bears starting quarterbacks over the last such-and-such years versus the opponent’s much smaller number of quarterbacks over the same time period.

It’s exactly what you get when you put a team like the Bears in a prime-time slot they don’t deserve. This is a team made for rubberneckers only.

No matter the network stuck with them, the general idea for handling a bad Bears team is to stick to the same basic theme — their elusive search for a quarterback — and then speculate that the current one could finally be the answer.

When the “SNF” schedule came out, this game was supposed to be all about Justin Fields and his chances of being The One. But due to circumstances beyond NBC’s control, its first Sunday night Bears game landed after Bagent won his first start following Fields’ right thumb injury.

It would’ve been silly not to highlight Bagent’s story, the only interesting thing about a 2-5 Bears team facing a 2-4 Chargers team. The problem was that after the first play, the Bears looked so inept the network wasn’t able to pivot in time to a new narrative.

So Collinsworth kept talking about Bagent’s promise instead of the possibility the Bears could be awful enough to make another coaching change inevitable.

At one point Mike Tirico and Collinsworth brought up the Bears’ search for a new stadium, and the camera quickly cut to President/CEO Kevin Warren. We were reminded of the great job Warren did getting the Minnesota Vikings’ new stadium built.

Since everyone loves the Vikings stadium, surely that means a new Bears stadium would be just as acclaimed. Apparently.

Collinsworth seemed almost giddy over the prospect of a bidding war between local communities, though he didn’t specifically mention scenic Country Club Hills, the latest suburb with a grand plan to host the Bears.

It was almost as if the Bears handed the NBC announcers some extra talking points, knowing the game would quickly get out of hand. But there was no mention of the previous $690 million renovation of Soldier Field, the Crash-Landing Spaceship by the Lake design that has been widely mocked in Chicago as an architectural blunder.

They also didn’t show the “reimagined” domed Soldier Field, the “Hail Mary” play from former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, or the renderings of the proposed Arlington Park plan, which features a domed stadium that resembles anything from a bar of soap to a lid to a deodorant stick. Of course, the Bears told us at the time of its release in September 2022 that it was “just a placeholder and not an actual design.” Rest assured there’s plenty of time to come up with something more ridiculous-looking.

Perhaps the highlight of NBC’s telecast was Eberflus throwing the red challenge flag after the Bears scored a meaningless touchdown late in the game. “The Bears almost negating their own touchdown with a challenge flag is the perfect metaphor for this season,” one fan wrote on social media.

Eberflus naturally meant to throw the flag before the play. But reaction time has never been a strength of his, as evidenced by the Chase Claypool saga. Fortunately there was no video review of the touchdown, so Eberflus escaped viral embarrassment.

The Bears’ next prime-time game is Nov. 9 at home against the Carolina Panthers, a “Thursday Night Football” game on Prime Video that no doubt will discuss the possibility of the Bears getting the Nos. 1 and 2 picks in the 2024 draft. Al Michaels already feels a cold coming on.

Their only other remaining night game is scheduled for Nov. 27 at Minnesota, a “Monday Night Football” affair. Hopefully ESPN already has found a flex game to relieve America of prime-time, post-Thanksgiving-weekend Beardom.

For the sake of Bears fans, it’s the only compassionate thing to do.

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Here are three things Eberflus said about key injuries.

1. Tyson Bagent will make a 3rd consecutive start against the New Orleans Saints.

Eberflus said quarterback Justin Fields will miss a third straight game Sunday as he continues his recover from a dislocated right thumb. Eberflus classified Fields as “week to week” with the injury he suffered Oct. 15 against the Minnesota Vikings.

Eberflus said Fields is “improving” but wouldn’t say whether he has tried throwing as he works to regain his grip strength.

“I’m not going to get into particulars, but he is progressing,” Eberflus said. “We like where he is right now.”

Fields traveled with the Bears to SoFi Stadium and was on the sideline for the Chargers game.

Undrafted rookie Tyson Bagent completed 25 of 37 passes for 232 yards with no touchdown passes, two interceptions and a 62 passer rating in place of Fields. He led two touchdown drives, including one he capped with a 1-yard run, but the Bears fell behind early and couldn’t catch up amid a host of mistakes.

Bagent’s next test Sunday in New Orleans might not be any easier. The Saints rank fifth in the NFL with 296.4 yards allowed per game, fifth with a 3.3% interception rate and ninth with 19.3 points allowed per game.

2. Safety Jaquan Brisker is in concussion protocol after feeling ill last week.

Brisker went into concussion protocol after the Las Vegas Raiders game on Oct. 22, but Eberflus said he was cleared by the team and an independent neurologist.

Brisker then reported feeling ill with a fever Tuesday, Eberflus said. He missed all of the practices leading up to the Chargers game, and the Bears ruled him out Saturday. When he reported he still was feeling off Sunday, the Bears reevaluated him for a concussion Monday.

Eberflus said Brisker is back in concussion protocol.

Brisker missed two games last year with a concussion in late November and early December, and he was open this summer about how he struggled to get back to his old energetic self in the wake of the injury.

“We were working with Jaquan the whole way, talking to him, making sure he was squared away,” Eberflus said. “The most important thing is our players’ safety and health.”

The Bears played Sunday without Brisker and fellow starting safety Eddie Jackson, who was active but didn’t play as he recovers from a foot injury.

3. The Bears have to ‘really evaluate’ Tremaine Edmunds’ knee over the next couple of days.

Edmunds left the Chargers game early in the third quarter after having his right knee evaluated. He walked slowly off the field and into the medical tent but soon began running on the sideline to test it out. He returned to the game but then left again.

Edmunds said after the game the injury was painful and initially scared him.

“It could definitely be worse than what it is now,” he said. “I’ll know (Monday) as far as what it looks like inside. I’m blessed definitely to be walking right now for sure.”

Along with Edmunds, the Bears will monitor left tackle Braxton Jones’ status this week. Jones, who is recovering from a neck injury, is in his 21-day practice window to return from injured reserve.

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They fell behind early and there was no rally Sunday night at SoFi Stadium in a 30-13 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers.

1. The Bears projected confidence in the days leading up to the game.

Blowout wins over the Washington Commanders and Las Vegas Raiders stood as evidence they had started to play more consistently in the last month, but the next step — the elusive one — is putting together consecutive wins. They call it stacking wins but, again, if you have only two of them, is it really a stack?

The Bears haven’t won two straight since Weeks 16-17 of the 2021 season, a Nick Foles start in Seattle and an Andy Dalton start at Soldier Field against the New York Giants a week before the previous regime was fired. Imagine that: Foles and Dalton, a couple of footnotes in the Bears quarterback issues over the past few decades.

Sunday’s game started as well as the Bears (2-6) could have hoped. The Chargers — and anyone else who spent time digesting Tyson Bagent’s first career start in Week 7 — were surely wondering if the rookie quarterback could cut it loose.

Go deep, kid.

It looked like the Bears had tight end Cole Kmet running the seam to occupy a safety, and with Darnell Mooney streaking deep outside the numbers against cornerback Asante Samuel Jr., the throw was there.

When did Mooney learn offensive coordinator Luke Getsy was dialing up the long ball on the first snap?

“When we went over the walk-through this morning,” he said. “We knew the first play of the game we were going to take a shot.”

With a shove from Samuel at the end, Mooney made a terrific grab as he went to the turf for a 41-yard gain. Officials called Samuel for pass interference, which the Bears obviously declined. Some wondered if Mooney was touched down — including Mooney.

“Didn’t think I was down,” he said. “I thought I could have scored on that play. Would have been a big play for the first play of the game.”

I thought Mooney hesitated a little in getting off the turf.

“I was just making sure I caught the ball,” he said. “I feel I got up fast. And then I was just turning over and I started running and the whistle started blowing.”

Said coach Matt Eberflus: “I told Mooney he has to get up and be convincing. He just needs to get up and go house the thing and then let them make the decision. Made a heck of a catch for sure and really good play.”

Did the contact Samuel made with Mooney just before the ball arrived lead to the officials’ judgment about Mooney being down? No matter what, let’s be real clear: The Bears didn’t play well enough to win this game. The deep ball to Mooney, something that has been missing from the offense, was the only play over 18 yards against a defense that entered last in the league by a wide margin in passing yardage allowed.

A 1-yard run by D’Onta Foreman was followed by an attempt to get wide receiver Trent Taylor around left end on a run play that lost 2 yards. That put the Bears in a position they largely avoided against the Raiders — behind the sticks.

It looked like the Chargers ran a game up front, and defensive end Joey Bosa was the triumphant one as he overpowered left guard Cody Whitehair for a sack and an 11-yard loss. The Bears went from a dynamic opening play to the fringe of field-goal range to punting just like that.

From there, it was a compilation of issues far too many to overcome as the Chargers (3-5) scored on their first five possessions. Quarterback Justin Herbert was super efficient, completing 31 of 40 passes for 298 yards and three touchdowns, and hot from the start, leading scoring drives of 10, nine, eight, nine and 10 plays with the Bears rarely forcing the Chargers into third down.

Tackling was poor. Weak-side linebacker T.J. Edwards wasn’t able to settle his feet in time to stop running back Austin Ekeler from scoring on a 39-yard screen pass. If Edwards had been under control, the play might have gone for a loss. Instead, it was the first touchdown of the game.

“It’s been good the last three weeks, our tackling has been really good,” Eberflus said. “Today wasn’t what I wanted to be.”

The defense did a nice job against the run again: The Chargers had 25 rushes for 54 yards with a long of 7.

“The run wasn’t working,” cornerback Jaylon Johnson said. “They used our aggressiveness against us, started running screens, throw-back screens. They just found different ways to get their running back the ball.”

Eberflus pointed out penalties were an issue too. There were five that cost the Bears 43 yards in the first half. Take out a 15-yard call against Velus Jones Jr. for fair-catch interference — I couldn’t tell if he was possibly pushed on the play — and you’re talking about four calls for 28 yards. The Bears had seven penalties for 53 yards for the game. Not ideal and not crippling for a good team, but the Bears really struggle to overcome self-inflicted wounds.

Where they really lost a grip on the game was at the end of the first half. The Bears trailed 17-0 midway through the second quarter before mounting a 14-play, 75-yard drive, converting four third downs along the way. Bagent completed passes on three of the third downs, connecting twice with wide receiver DJ Moore and once with Kmet, and then running back Darrynton Evans took a pitch on third-and-4 from the 11 and made it to the end zone with right tackle Darnell Wright leading the way.

With 1:47 remaining in the half, the Bears had gathered themselves. Once again, the defense couldn’t get off the field. Herbert hit another big screen to Ekeler (seven catches, 94 yards for the game), this one for 23 yards. From the 11-yard line with 10 seconds remaining, Herbert dumped off a pass to tight end Donald Parham Jr., who bruised his way through cornerback Tyrique Stevenson, Edwards and safety Duron Harmon. It was another example of how the tackling wasn’t on point.

When the Chargers drove for a field goal on the opening possession of the third quarter, the rout was on. The Bears weren’t going to experience any magic with the rookie Bagent in his second career start. Not with the Chargers able to play soft coverage and keep everything underneath.

“I don’t even know, man,” defensive tackle Justin Jones said when asked to explain where things went wrong. “I’m not even going to lie to you. I don’t even know what to tell you right now.”

Jones is usually pretty measured after games — wins or losses — but seemed pained by this one, which came against his former team.

“We’ve got a long season left,” he said. “We’ve got to go in there and just have thick skin and look ourselves in the mirror and say, ‘What am I doing wrong? What am I doing bad that I can fix?’ Player to player, man to man, coach to coach, everybody. They were better than us today.”

More problematic than the penalties was the Bears’ inability to run the ball like they had lately. Foreman finished with 34 yards on nine carries, and Roschon Johnson had 21 yards on six carries. The offense totaled only 73 rushing yards on 25 attempts a week after physically controlling the Raiders up front. Bosa stuffed Johnson for no gain on fourth-and-1 in the third quarter.

“We could have done a much better job in the run game with our physicality,” Kmet said. “That’s our identity and that’s what we need to play into. I just didn’t feel like I did last week with the Raiders.”

Add it all up and not much felt like it did last week. Now the Bears are back in a familiar position: at least two weeks away from their next two-game winning streak.

2. Tyson Bagent played OK in his second career start.

Not good enough to win, but he battled and showed poise in the second half by not forcing the ball into zone coverage. But the results — 25 of 37 for 232 yards with the one sack and two interceptions — was short of what was needed with the defense having no answers for Justin Herbert’s short passing game.

There was a communication error on the first interception between Bagent and DJ Moore that resulted in an easy pick for Ja’Sir Taylor.

“That’s completely on me,” Bagent said. “Just got to get off it and go through my progressions.”

Bagent admitted there were sloppy elements to the offense.

“I can’t make it worse,” he said. “No bad plays, just neutral plays or good plays.”

The second interception came on a dig route to Darnell Mooney over the middle. The ball was on Mooney — and probably could have been caught — but he was hit hard by safety Alohi Gilman, sending the ball into the air for safety Derwin James to intercept.

“Did you guys feel like I dropped that one?” Mooney asked. “I seen (Gilman) coming down and I felt like I grabbed it, but it was just a bang-bang play, kind of smashed me. I’m looking for answers.”

Bagent said he was a little late on a quick hitch to Darrynton Evans on a fourth-down play that fell incomplete. Matt Eberflus said Evans could have made a better effort coming back for the ball. There were small things and plenty to learn from if Bagent starts again Sunday in New Orleans. The Bears have yet to indicate what Justin Fields’ status is as he recovers from a dislocated right thumb.

“I try to take things from every game that I play in,” Bagent said. “This is all still new. I took a lot from last week. I’ll take a lot from this week and I’ll take a lot from next week and the week after that, whether I’m starting or not.”

A decision on Fields has to be mostly health-based. The Saints have their struggles, but entering Week 8 they were 12th in the league versus the run (98.7 yards per game), fourth versus the pass (187 ypg) and second on third down (30.5%). That’s a formidable challenge for whoever is starting.

“It’s nothing for me to figure out,” Bagent said when asked about the QB situation. “That’s out of my control. I’m going to attack the week the same way I always do. Everything stays the same.”

3. A year after an aggressive move before the trade deadline to add help at one of the Bears’ weakest positions, will GM Ryan Poles be on the hunt to supplement the pass rush?

The Bears traded a second-round pick to the Pittsburgh Steelers last October for wide receiver Chase Claypool, eager to outfit Justin Fields with more playmaking talent. The deal wound up being regrettable for the Bears.

Claypool never got going after arriving — he dealt with a knee injury — and despite everyone saying all the right things in the offseason, things fizzled quickly. He was dumped last month in a pick-swap trade with the Miami Dolphins. Meanwhile, the Steelers walked away from the trade with the 32nd pick in the draft, which they used on cornerback Joey Porter Jr.

Of interest in the next two days are Commanders defensive ends Montez Sweat and Chase Young. Both are in contract years for a team that fell to 3-5 Sunday with a 38-31 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles at FedEx Field. It was Washington’s fifth loss in six games.

Both have been rumored to be potentially available. Either would be an instant upgrade for the Bears, whose lack of a pass rush was on display again Sunday. Justin Herbert wasn’t sacked and the Bears registered only two quarterback hits — both by linebacker T.J. Edwards on blitzes.

It was a rough game for the defensive linemen from a pass-rush perspective. They didn’t win one-on-one battles or generate a push. Defensive end Yannick Ngakoue, who is tied with Edwards for the team lead with two sacks, didn’t have any statistics. With 10 sacks, the Bears are last in the league and there’s a gap to close. Eight teams are tied with 15 sacks.

The Commanders sank a ton of money into their defensive line, paying tackles Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne. They’re believed to want to keep one of the two edge rushers. I’m told extension efforts were a no-go, however, because Sweat and Young are both represented by Klutch Sports. My source said that put the agency in a tough spot. If one player signed an extension, the Commanders could potentially control the other with the franchise tag.

Now the Commanders could trade one of them and direct offseason resources to securing the other and still feel pretty good about their defensive line.

So are the Bears in on this potential sale?

“As it sits right now I think it’s going to be fairly quiet for us,” Poles said on the WMVP-AM 1000 pregame show. “But at the same time we’re already going to be opportunistic in taking information and seeing does it work for our organization both short term and long term.”

The Commanders reportedly want a second-round pick to move either player. It could be a second plus a later pick if Washington can get multiple teams involved.

Why would it make sense for Poles?

• The pass rush remains the biggest need on the roster. Wide receiver was a huge issue in 2022, but you could make a legitimate case the pass rush was just as big of a problem. Adding Ngakoue hasn’t moved the needle. While a host of names could hit free agency after this season — Danielle Hunter, Brian Burns, Rashan Gary, Josh Allen, the two Commanders and more — it will be a much smaller list when mid-March rolls around. It’s rare a legitimate upper-tier pass rusher is on the open market.
• If Poles could add one now, he would have time to work on an extension. He could also consider the franchise tag, although that would be expensive. It was $19.7 million for defensive ends this season. I think he’d be more interested in a trade-and-sign deal in which he had a contract done with the player when the deal was executed. There isn’t a lot of time for that.
• With about half of the college season remaining, a dominant edge rusher could emerge. But right now it doesn’t look like there’s a can’t-miss pass rusher when you project the top 10 picks or so.

Why would it not make sense for Poles?

• He got burned with the Claypool deal and he’d be moving what projects to be a high second-round pick. That would be fertile area to consider a few positions — center and safety come to mind. He could get one of the better players at either of those positions with a high second-rounder.
• There’s no guarantee the Bears could have either player for the long haul without using the franchise or transition tag. Both options would be expensive and perhaps set a floor for negotiations, at least from the perspective of the player and his agent.
• Paying a second-round pick for a player in season would probably embolden the player in contract negotiations too. He would know the Bears don’t want to move second-round picks in consecutive years with nothing to show for it long term. That would naturally drive up the asking price. Yes, the Bears have a critical need when you’re looking long term. Overpaying for a good player can have ramifications.

Sweat, 27, leads the Commanders with 6 1/2 sacks and 11 quarterback hits to go with two forced fumbles. Young, 24, has five sacks and nine quarterback hits.

“Sweat is a more refined pass rusher,” an NFL evaluator told me. “He’s long. He has a little bit of lower-body tightness, but he can still bend and turn the corner. He’s a much more polished technician than Chase Young.

“Chase is starting to come on a little bit. He’s had production this year. He is finally healthy. He was out really a year and a half and he got really derailed in his development, and when he came back you could tell he was just going to try to win with his physical tools.

“Now he’s starting to do a little more. He looks to be all the way back. He’s super explosive off the ball. He’s a top-five pick for a reason. He can bend. Lower-body balance. Short-area closing speed. Violent and powerful when he wants to bull rush. The one who can help you the most right now is Sweat. The one with the most upside is Young.”

The evaluator admitted he doesn’t know the ins and outs of Young’s recovery from a serious right knee injury in November 2021. He suffered a torn ACL and ruptured patellar tendon, and that made it a long road back.

The Commanders are the only ones who truly know where Young is healthwise. He was out for 13 months before returning to play in the final three games last season. The injury led the Commanders to decline the fifth-year option for Young, who had just 1 1/2 sacks in the nine games before the injury.

The No. 2 pick in the 2020 draft, Young was the defensive rookie of the year that season, when he had 7 1/2 sacks, four forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries, one for a touchdown. He had a half-sack, three quarterback hits and a pass deflected in the Bears’ Week 5 victory at Washington. Sweat had 1 1/2 sacks in that game. So the Bears have seen them up close.

I’m not sure what the answer is here. I do know this: Poles can’t be motivated to make a trade for this season. He can’t be impulsive and push himself into doing something based on a frustrating night for his defensive line. The Bears are 2-6, and while they’re making improvements and you can see some growth, an in-season acquisition of a pass rusher wouldn’t change the trajectory of this season.

A move here would be about only the long view. How does Poles feel about the compensation required? What kind of valuation is he prepared to make on the player?

4. A lack of a contract extension for cornerback Jaylon Johnson before the 3 p.m. Tuesday trade deadline shouldn’t mean anything in terms of how the Bears feel about Johnson.

It would mean one thing: The Bears are happy to have Johnson on their roster for the remainder of the season. The only thing the deadline means is if the Bears are entertaining the idea of dealing Johnson, they have to move quickly.

I would be awfully surprised if the Bears even consider trading Johnson and I would be stunned if they were actively shopping him. It just doesn’t make sense when you consider how the defense has played lately and what Johnson could mean to the future of the team.

Just because there has been chatter about the possibility doesn’t mean it’s something the Bears have spent a minute on. It’s natural at this time of the season. Identify teams that don’t look to be headed to the postseason, find players on expiring contracts and put two and two together. Sometimes it doesn’t add up to four — and it won’t in this instance if the Bears aren’t adding their “two” to the equation.

Tuesday’s deadline has nothing to do with the Bears paying Johnson. They could write him a new contract on Wednesday, two weeks from now or anytime before free agency starts in March.

On Sunday, Johnson followed up his two-interception game against the Raiders last week with three tackles and one pass breakup. He was in man coverage on the 9-yard touchdown pass to Simi Fehoko but got rubbed by tight end Donald Parham on the play. Johnson was in a tough spot.

”It’s just another man route, a little mesher,” Herbert said. “(Fehoko) did a great job of just running through it, beating man coverage. I looked him off a little too early, came back to him and he caught it and made a great play. I was glad that he was looking at me.”

Instinct tells me the Bears are intrigued about the possibility of keeping Johnson in their plans. Johnson switched representation in the offseason, hiring Southern California-based agent Christopher Ellison, who has 11 active clients in the league, including Bears practice squad linebacker Micah Baskerville. He doesn’t have extensive experience negotiating larger contracts. That’s not to say Ellison will have difficulty reaching the finish line with Johnson, but it’s something to keep in mind.

Johnson has played really well this season, and the former second-round pick doesn’t turn 25 until April. He’s the Bears’ best cornerback in a young position group with rookies Tyrique Stevenson and Terell Smith, second-year nickel corner Kyler Gordon and reserves Greg Stroman and Jaylon Jones.

Where Johnson slots in the big picture is important to consider. I spoke with a veteran personnel man a few days ago, and he was extremely positive about what Johnson has put on tape this season.

“He’s the key,” the personnel man said. “I don’t care about all the hype and the (lack of) interceptions. The guy has got really good ball skills. He hasn’t come up with the ball, but people are covered. He’s an outstanding athlete. He’s got good feet and speed, burst, quickness, tip-away skills, he’s feisty, he’ll attack the run.

“I haven’t watched him in the past. The games on tape this year, that guy is a No. 1 corner. Athletically, how he plays, how he competes, the swagger he has that you’re looking for, that’s a dude.”

If Johnson had played the last two years — especially 2022, when general manager Ryan Poles was in his first year with the Bears — like he has this season, a deal probably would be already done. Johnson missed six games last season with rib and finger injuries. A shoulder injury sidelined him for four games (including the playoff game) at the end of his rookie season, and he missed two games in 2021 with COVID-19. Johnson sat out two games this season with a hamstring strain.

He’s playing well, and even if some evaluators question whether he profiles as a top-flight No. 1 cornerback on a highly ranked defense, he’s the best the Bears have and they would have a sizable hole to fill in the offseason without him unless they believe the youth on the roster is ready to step up. That’s a big if.

A combination of continued top-level play and durability in the weeks ahead would buttress Johnson’s case to be paid. I would expect the Bears to engage with Ellison to see if something can be hammered out. I don’t believe the Bears have interest in listening to trade offers.

Can a deal be struck? That depends on what valuation Johnson has in mind and where the Bears see him in 2024 and beyond.

5. Two weeks ago, I texted a pro scout with another organization I’ve known for a long time.

“Any thoughts on this sign-stealing hubbub at Michigan and what happens in the NFL?”

He called back late the other night; I won’t use his name or team as he’s not authorized to talk with media.

“Yeah,” the scout said. “I’ve got a story for you.”

Boy, did he. If you’re into dark secrets in the NFL, this is right up your alley.

If you’re not familiar with the details, Michigan has been accused of having a staffer scout future opponents in person, in violation of NCAA rules. Yahoo Sports first reported the alleged violations. The school suspended staff member Connor Stalions, who allegedly purchased tickets to dozens of games over the past couple of years.

ESPN reported there is evidence someone using tickets purchased by Stalions had a smartphone to record sideline signals. If true, this would violate the NCAA rule preventing in-person scouting of future opponents. Wolverines coach Jim Harbaugh has denied any knowledge or wrongdoing.

That’s one area where the NFL differs. The league allows teams to send an advance scout to gather information on its next opponent the week before the game (or two weeks before in the event there is a bye). So Sunday night, the Saints had a scout in the SoFi Stadium press box. I’d bet a month’s pay the Bears had a pro scout in Indianapolis earlier in the day to watch the Saints play the Colts.

These scouts can’t videotape the sidelines or anything like that, and they would need a high-powered camera to get a clear shot from the press box — which would be impossible if they were perched on the wrong side. But they come armed with a good pair of binoculars and are there to gather anything they can get. Perfectly legal.

Sign stealing has been going on since, well, the beginning of organized sports. The Philadelphia Phillies were caught in September 1900. Manager George Stallings had a backup catcher, Morgan Murphy, hide in the clubhouse beyond center field and use binoculars and a telegraph to relay pitches called by the opposing catcher to the dugout. It has continued ever since in baseball, with the Houston Astros getting busted for cheating in 2017.

Dave Campbell, a legendary Texas football writer, published an article in 1973 about how Texas deciphered Navy’s sideline signals in advance of the 1964 Cotton Bowl. The practice was going on before that in college and pro football; Clemson recently was lauded for its ability to pick up opponents’ signals.

In Ohio State’s 49-28 victory over Clemson in a College Football Playoff semifinal on Jan. 1, 2021, the Buckeyes huddled far more than they had all season.

“Yeah, we just didn’t want them stealing our signals,” quarterback Justin Fields told reporters afterward.

Which brings us back to the dark art of sign stealing in the NFL, something that has become less prevalent since the league allowed one defensive player to wear a speaker in his helmet beginning in 2008. The league implemented that same communication system in 1994 for quarterbacks to hear directly from a coach in the press box or on the sideline. It’s far more common in football for teams to attempt to decipher defensive calls because offensive ones are much more involved.

“It’s a fascinating topic to watch unfold,” said the pro scout, who was trained by a veteran sign stealer at the outset of his career.

Rewind to a game in the past decade — the scout told me ALL of the details, but I had to promise not to give away any revealing information — and he’s in the press box ready to go about his business.

To preface, all of this was totally within the scope of NFL rules.

“There isn’t a guy on every team that can do it,” he said. “It’s a special skill set. That guy at Michigan (allegedly) videotaping it makes all the sense in the world because he’s going to have to bring it back to look at it or give it to someone else to look at. Especially if you’re sitting in the stands, that’s got to be hard. You’re not in the press box with a work area.

“The interesting part of it from the NFL standpoint is you would think, OK, you passed the rule and you’ve got the speaker in the helmet for defense. It’s just going to go away. No, teams were still signaling for quite a while. Not everyone, but you would randomly run into one.

“Sometimes advancing can be boring … in terms of, all right, what am I going to get that’s not on tape? You get the tempo. You get the feel. You kind of get away from the ball stuff, sideline stuff, and then you get the personnel signals. Everybody signals personnel. It’s a little bit of an advantage but not that much.

“Coaches will tell you the benefits (of signaling personnel) outweigh what you’re giving away. Teams that don’t signal make it awfully hard. You’re going to get one or two screwups, especially for a young defensive coordinator. That’s a different story.

“I pack a voice recorder in my bag just in case. That’s the only way to be on top of it. If your head is down writing, you can’t do it. It’s too fast.”

The game starts, and the team the scout is advancing is on defense.

“This position coach looked nervous as hell,” the scout said. “He looked like the third base coach for a Triple-A team. Three plays in, it’s, ‘Holy (crap)! Are they signaling the defense?’ I whipped out the recorder and I just started going as fast as I could. ‘Play 4, touches the bill of his hat, touches his arm, touches his belt, swipes his left arm, blah, blah, blah.’ You go through the whole deal.”

The scout spent the entire game reciting the coach’s signals as they happened, filling his recorder with notes from about 60 plays. He returned to the office Monday morning and created a spreadsheet with all of the signals he saw, a laborious process.

“I type it all up,” he said. “And then I watch the tape.”

He added the coverages the opponent played on every passing down to the spreadsheet.

“OK, well they played Cover-6 here,” he said. “They played Cover-2. This was a cross-dog blitz. Cover-3. Every play. And I had a column for all of that and added it.”

Next, he conferred with the quality control assistants, who had no idea of the gold mine the scout had potentially stumbled upon, about their notes from watching tape. Did you have Cover-3 on Play 8? Check. Cover-2 on Play 9? Check. They married their scouting reports on which coverages were played on each snap. Their breakdowns were identical.

Finally, the moment of truth arrived. Did the original column, the signals, match the coverages for each play?

“Holy (crap)!” the scout said. “Everything was spot on. When they touch the bill and touch the elbow, it’s Cover-66 — every time. This signal is cross-dog blitz. Everything on the spreadsheet fit.”

The scout took his discovery to the offensive coordinator and expressed his confidence in knowing the signals of that week’s opponent. The coordinator was intrigued, but no one knew if the signals would change. Just a few tweaks could render the information useless. Maybe the team would switch to the in-helmet communication.

The game started and, yes, the opponent was signaling.

Thirty-three Buzz? Checkmark. Cover-2? Checkmark. Cover-6? Checkmark. All of the signals matched the coverages the scout’s report said were coming. They knew pre-snap what the defense was in.

Starting with the second series, the team got the quarterback to the line of scrimmage early in the play clock and told him if a pressure was coming and what coverage he was going to face. Sometimes it told him where to go with the ball or what to check to.

The scout’s team won the game and he earned plaudits from co-workers. He still packs his voice recorder for every road trip.

“But I haven’t seen it since,” the scout said. “I’m not saying it doesn’t happen. I’m just saying in my experience I haven’t seen it. It’s not like it was 20 years ago.

“Now, really the only fun you get to have is in two-minute. If a team you’re scouting has to defend no-huddle, they have to signal. We’ll steal them in two-minute, but the problem is the offensive coaches have to be open to it. Everything has to match. There have been times when you say, ‘Hey, I think I have these guys down,’ and you get, ‘Ah, we’re in a pretty good flow here. All good.’ That’s OK too.

“You don’t become pissed off because you understand the trust factor has to be through the roof. Like you say, ‘Here comes zero pressure,’ and the coach dials up a screen pass and it’s man coverage and they blow it up for a 5-yard loss, the head coach is (cussing) you for the next three weeks. You tiptoe your way into it. In a two-minute situation, in the (coaches) box, you are shorthand writing it and you are getting it live. You’re looking at it as it happens and do what you can to relay the information.”

I called a veteran national scout, who spends his falls traversing college campuses across the country, for his take on the Michigan situation.

“It’s very common to do that in-game in college,” the scout said. “If you’re not trying to do that, it’s probably neglect, to be quite honest. It can be an advantage. Now, over the last 15-plus years, it’s gotten a lot more complex with the big boards with multiple pictures or three-plus people doing different signals, trying to figure out which one it was. Back in the day, when it was one person signaling in, it was obviously a lot easier to crack the code and steal the signals and get an advantage that way. Both teams were probably doing it.

“I have never heard of a team going out and doing it in advance because of the rules. But I’d be shocked if this was the first time it’s ever happened. I can’t imagine, with the magnitude of the sport, the money involved and everything else, I would be absolutely shocked if this was the first time this has ever happened.

“What takes this over the top is the (alleged) videotaping and it’s happened over and over and over again.”

One former NFL player, who never suited up for the Bears, told me the coordinator for a team he played for hired people to sweep the hotel the opposing team stayed in immediately after it checked out to seek any pertinent information that may have been left behind. On a table in a restaurant. In a trash can next to the elevator. Anywhere.

“I believe that,” the national scout said. “And I’ve heard similar stories. Players, especially college players, back in the paper days, they were going to leave stuff out. Now things are more on iPads, so there’s less access to anything.

“It’s a lot more common than probably anybody expects or would admit. All is fair in love and war and football. I don’t know if it’s right to say if you’re not cheating, you’re not trying. But you better be doing every damn thing you can to try to win.”

The pro scout, the one who brought this story in the NFL to light for me, said he wouldn’t be surprised if Michigan and other college programs were up to high jinks.

“If you hired me as a personnel guy for a college team tomorrow and I am there for the first game and they are signaling their asses off, I’m going to be like a dog saying, ‘You think we can get away with this?’” he said. “It’s going to be like shooting fish in a barrel.”

6. Eddie Jackson had a look of pain on his face at his locker after the game.

The veteran free safety was in uniform after being held out last week and limited to 14 snaps in a Week 6 start against the Minnesota Vikings. He has a left foot injury that cropped up in the Week 2 loss at Tampa Bay and has been limited to three games, playing extensively in only the opener.

“It’s a frustrating thing,” he said. “Feel like I haven’t had to do this since I’ve been in the league. It’s just (hard), especially on top of the losing. Then not being out there and seeing plays that you know you can make, that’s the devastating part.”

Jackson’s issue isn’t the Lisfranc injury in the same foot that cost him the final five games of the 2022 season. He was healthy in training camp and the Bears were optimistic about him. He’d been durable, missing only five games through his first five seasons, and he rediscovered his knack for being a playmaker in the current scheme last year. The Bears had 15 takeaways in their first 12 games in 2022, and Jackson had four interceptions and two forced fumbles.

Although he was active after being designated as a full participant in practice Friday, the Bears were going to use him only in an emergency Sunday with Elijah Hicks and Duron Harmon starting while Jaquan Brisker (illness) was out.

“Next week,” Jackson vowed. “That was the plan. It was always another week. Last time — the Minnesota game (when he had to leave early) — we didn’t want to have another setback like that, especially when you are so close. I’m right there. Just a few more days, but it’s so hard watching.”

When Jackson gets out there against the Saints, he hopes to make a difference.

“Lead by example with your play,” he said. “That’s the standard. Go out there and ball. Guys see me … it’s contagious. That’s really it.”

7. There wasn’t a player harder on himself after the game than wide receiver Velus Jones Jr.

He stumbled at the end of a route on second-and-8 from the Chargers 40-yard line in the second quarter. He got behind cornerback Michael Davis and safety Derwin James, and it should have been a long touchdown against a secondary that has surrendered way too many plays like that all season. Instead, Jones stumbled, then juggled and lost the ball on his back in the end zone.

“When I got even with the DB (Davis), I knew I was going to be open,” Jones said. “So I went to dig in. I had looked back for the ball and (it was) a little underthrown. So I started working back to the ball as I was running, trying to track it. I had lost my footing because I was running back to it at an angle. And almost ran past it, so I tried to stop and I had slipped.

“But it’s no excuse. It was a catchable ball. I mean, I had it. It’s real devastating when you prepare all week and put in the extra work that’s needed and you catch a ball like that 100 times after practice, 100 times on the Jugs (machine). And it’s in that small window of opportunity you get to show what you can do and it (doesn’t) happen for you.”

Credit to Jones for being accountable. The drive did end in a touchdown, so the gaffe didn’t put the Bears in a deeper hole. But Jones has been struggling to get a lot of playing time even with Equanimeous St. Brown on injured reserve. He had played only 27 snaps on offense entering the game with four rushes for 22 yards and two catches for 5 yards.

“This is a great opportunity for me to learn from it and get back to work, work on that same route when I get back to practice,” he said. “It definitely sucks. Everything went wrong and like I said, it was just a routine play. Made it 100 times in practice, but it just sucks (to) put in the work but you don’t get the results.”

He almost made an acrobatic play to reel it in.

“Yeah,” Jones said. “Almost don’t count.”

The route was a winner as he blew past the defense and Tyson Bagent lofted a ball that was good enough for a score.

“Just fade inside the numbers and then you get back outside the numbers,” Jones said. “Great call by coach (Luke Getsy). I can’t capitalize on it. You learn from your mistakes. You watch the film. What I could have done better? It just sucks you put in the work for that small window of opportunity. Things don’t go your way. I can dwell on this or I can get back to work and when the opportunity comes back my way, I can capitalize on it.”

When Jones misses big plays, will the Bears hesitate to put him into those small windows of opportunity moving forward?

“I’m always going to trust the guys that are out there,” Bagent said. “I’ve got full faith in Velus. I’ve seen him make plays like that a million times. That happens again next week and the week after that, still going to make it a point to get him the ball.”

8. There probably isn’t a greater expert on professional football in West Virginia than Pro Football Talk founder Mike Florio.

So I called him the other day to discuss the emergence of Tyson Bagent, the Martinsburg, W.Va., native who has joined an exclusive club as a starting NFL quarterback who was born and raised in the Mountaineer State.

“I remember when Randy Moss (from Rand, W.Va.) emerged back in 1998,” said Florio, who runs PFT from Bridgeport, W.Va. “It was such an amazing thing and such a rarity. It comes down to basic population. The fewer the people, the smaller the likelihood one of them is going to be sufficiently talented, motivated, driven — all the factors you need to reach the highest level of any sport.

“And it’s kind of that same vibe, but it’s not the same because there wasn’t a whole lot of hype about Tyson Bagent. Yes, everybody knew he was good at Shepherd University, but how often does a Division II player go and start an NFL game as a rookie?”

The West Virginians connected for the first time last week when Florio interviewed Bagent after the Bears’ victory over the Raiders. I was curious if Florio knew of any other quarterbacks from West Virginia — not players who were raised elsewhere and played at West Virginia University — to start in the NFL?

It was a stumper. After our conversation, Florio followed up with a text and shared that WVU play-by-play voice Tony Caridi told him Bagent was the first West Virginia high school quarterback to start in the NFL since … Len “Feets” Barnum in 1941.

You will have to excuse Bagent for omitting Barnum last week when he discussed the rarity of being a West Virginia-born and -raised NFL quarterback. Barnum played at Parkersburg (W.Va.) High School and West Virginia Wesleyan College before making it with the Giants (he was part of their 1938 championship team) and Eagles.

It was in 1941 with the Eagles that he started at quarterback. He completed 19 of 55 passes on the season for 260 yards with no touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Good thing he also was known for being a running back, punter and kicker — and, yes, he played defense as well. Barnum later served in World War II.

It’s more than understandable Bagent wasn’t aware of “Feets.” Few are.

“I was on the phone with a dude from Huntington (W.Va.) and he said he had done a bunch of research and that I was the first West Virginia-born and -raised quarterback to ever start in the NFL,” Bagent said Thursday when asked if the magnitude of his ascent had struck him. “I was sitting back on my couch like, wow, that’s pretty amazing.

“It’s wild to think about. You just think about how long they’ve been playing in the NFL, how many people have gone through the NFL. So when you can still be the first to do something in this league that’s been around so long and had so many people come through it, it’s definitely an honor and something that’s really crazy and wild to think about.”

The odds Bagent beat even to reach this point are enormous.

“It’s amazing regardless of where he’s from,” Florio said. “The fact that this needle in the haystack comes from the haystack that is West Virginia makes it even more amazing. If he’s from California Division II, Texas Division II, Florida Division II, it’s still incredible a guy goes from Division II one year to starting in the NFL and winning a game the following year.

“It really is a great story. We’ve got Division II programs all over the state, and every once in a while there’s a guy and it’s, ‘Oh, man, he may make it to the next level.’ It’s like, ‘He may, but he’s probably not going to because who ever does?’ That’s a creature of Division II generally. Who ever makes that leap?”

9. The 1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 2008 Detroit Lions and 2017 Cleveland Browns won’t have company as the only teams in the Super Bowl era (non-strike season) to go winless.

The Carolina Panthers became the last team to earn a victory Sunday when former Bears kicker Eddy Piñeiro booted a 23-yard field goal as time expired for a 15-13 victory over the Houston Texans.

The hours leading up to Tuesday’s 3 p.m. trade deadline will be interesting to watch for more than just the Bears. Keep an eye on the Panthers. The Bears hold their first-round pick, and if GM Scott Fitterer is a seller, it could affect draft positioning.

The Panthers could sell to recoup draft capital they shipped out to trade up with the Bears in March to draft quarterback Bryce Young. The flip side is after trading away running back Christian McCaffery to the San Francisco 49ers last season and then wide receiver DJ Moore to the Bears, Carolina can’t afford to sell off more top-tier players.

The Panthers currently own six picks in the 2024 draft: their own second- through fourth-rounders along with fifth-round selections from the Tennessee Titans and 49ers and a sixth-rounder from the Arizona Cardinals.

Cornerback Donte Jackson, wide receiver Terrace Marshall Jr., safety Jeremy Chinn (who is on injured reserve) and defensive end Brian Burns are names that have generated interest. Chinn, the Southern Illinois product, seems unlikely to be traded as he’s out with a quadriceps injury.

The big name is Burns, a former first-round pick from Florida State who is playing on the fifth-year option in his rookie contract. ESPN reported the Panthers have told teams Burns is not available, and he would be a good candidate for the franchise tag in March absent an extension.

I’d be mighty surprised if the Panthers traded Burns. It would create another hole — a big one — and a draft pick can fill only so much if it hits. But if the Panthers do move any front-line talent, it could enhance the Bears’ positioning with Carolina’s top selection.

With that, here is the race for the top pick.

The one-win teams

Cardinals (1-7)

Next: at Browns, Sunday

The path to No. 1: After playing some tough ballgames — and stunning the Dallas Cowboys — the Cardinals became a lot less competitive. They battled the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday — the game was tied at 7 until 20 seconds remained in the first half — and then they were in a 24-7 hole. They’re not built to rally from that. The wild card is quarterback Kyler Murray should return from an ACL injury in the next few weeks. With Murray, can the Cardinals play their way out of the No. 1 pick?

Panthers (1-6)

Next: vs. Colts, Sunday

The path to No. 1: It’s really a struggle for the Panthers to protect Young. The Texans sacked him six times for 55 yards. Young is playing behind a poor offensive line and has taken 22 sacks on the season for a whopping 183 yards. That’s more than 8.3 yards per sack. Young has to learn how to minimize the damage when he’s under duress.

The two-win teams

(in reverse order of strength of schedule for all 17 opponents from Tankathon)

• Bears (2-6)
• Giants (2-6)
• Patriots (2-6)
• Packers (2-5)

If the draft order were based on the current standings, the Bears would pick No. 2 and No. 3.

10. Darrynton Evans had a decision to make and didn’t have a lot of time to do it.

The Bears were interested in adding the running back to their 53-man roster after losing Khalil Herbert (high ankle sprain) and Roschon Johnson (concussion) in the Week 5 victory at Washington.

Evans was a member of the Dolphins practice squad, and usually a 53-man roster offer is a no-brainer. But the Dolphins were playing well and he’d been led to believe an opportunity for promotion was coming soon, especially after rookie running back De’Von Achane suffered a knee injury the day before Evans left for the Bears. “Be ready,” the Dolphins had told him.

“Yeah, it was difficult,” Evans said. “Being in Miami, I was kind of getting into the groove of everything. Finally understood everything to where playing time was about to start happening.

“But once you get a call, a call with a guarantee, you’ve got to hop on the opportunity. Financially, it made sense (to sign with the Bears). It made sense for my career to get on the field and play. You’ve got to do what is best for you.”

He has made the most of his opportunities. Evans carried 14 times for 48 yards in the Week 7 victory over the Raiders. Holding penalties negated runs of 15 and 13 yards.

His most significant play might have been a check-down pass from Tyson Bagent in the right flat on third-and-6. Evans eluded a diving effort from defensive end Maxx Crosby and then spun out of the grasp of linebacker Kana’i Mauga to gain 2 more yards and move the chains.

“It was really an incredible play and a very important play for us to keep that drive alive,” offensive coordinator Luke Getsy said.

How long his opportunity exists with the Bears remains to be seen. They plan to get Herbert back; he has to spend at least one more week on injured reserve. Johnson was back against the Chargers with six carries.

Evans had four rushes for 18 yards with the 11-yard score, the first rushing touchdown of his career. He will be ready if he gets playing time in the weeks to come and said it wasn’t as simple as coming back to an offense he knew from a year ago.

Players signed away from another team’s practice squad are guaranteed three game checks, so with Evans earning a prorated $940,000, joining the Bears meant roughly $156,000 guaranteed. He has been with them for three weeks now.

Maybe more important than the money — Evans was receiving $12,000 per week from the Dolphins — was the chance to get on the field for a player who has been bouncing around since spending last season on the Bears practice squad and briefly on the roster.

Evans signed with the Colts on March 31 and was released May 2. He joined the Bills before training camp on July 25 and was let go Aug. 29. Two days later, he was on the Dolphins practice squad.

A 2020 third-round pick from Appalachian State with 30 career carries before the Bears’ Week 6 game against the Vikings, Evans needed a shot. Drafted by the Titans, he played behind Derrick Henry and thought he would get a shot in Year 2 when a PCL injury in his left knee limited him to one game. He saw spot duty for the Bears in six games last season, carrying 14 times and catching one pass.

“The thing for me now is to get out on the field and show everybody what I can do,” he said. “I feel like they already know. But everybody’s thing is, ‘We haven’t seen you do it yet.’ It’s like, ‘Shoot, give me an opportunity.’”

10a. After Cole Kmet wasn’t featured a lot in the passing game in Bagent’s first start, the tight end was targeted 10 times and caught all 10 for 79 yards.

10b. The Bears activated defensive end Khalid Kareem (hip) from injured reserve, and he replaced Dominique Robinson in the rotation. Kareem had a nice rush on the first third down of the game but didn’t get home. He dropped a potential interception later.

10c. Keep an eye on middle linebacker Tremaine Edmunds, who left with a right knee injury and returned briefly only to be later ruled out. He got tangled up with defensive tackle Gervon Dexter and likely will need testing to see where he is physically.

10d. Good news for rookie cornerback Terell Smith, whom I spotted on the practice field Thursday. He’s back in the building but not participating after overcoming mononucleosis. Matt Eberflus said Smith would be sidelined three or four weeks and he has missed three games. With any luck, Smith will have the strength to get back on the practice field this week.

10e. The CBS crew of Andrew Catalon, Tiki Barber, Matt Ryan and A.J. Ross will call the Bears-Saints game Sunday.

10f. The Saints opened as 6 1/2-point favorites at Westgate SuperBook in Las Vegas.

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“I can’t say it’s a guarantee,” Harbaugh said Monday. “It’s a knee that’s a little angry at times. But who knows? Maybe we’ll get Tyus back. We’ll see how that goes in the next few weeks.”

Bowser has been on the non-football injury list all season. He would add depth and versatility to a position group that has held up well with Odafe Oweh, Jadeveon Clowney, Kyle Van Noy and Malik Harrison sharing snaps.

Bowser declined to comment last week when several reporters approached him in the locker room to ask about his status. Bowser said on his podcast on Oct. 17 that he’s “feeling great” and “moving around very well.”

In August, Harbaugh said that Bowser was dealing with an “agitated knee” but that he expected him to be back by the start of the season.

Harbaugh said the Ravens came out of their victory over the Arizona Cardinals with “nothing major” in terms of new injuries.

He said cornerback Damarion “Pepe” Williams and outside linebacker Malik Hamm, both recovering from ankle injuries, are close to being ready to come off injured reserve. “So you’re going to have to make some decisions there,” Harbaugh said, alluding to the roster tweaks that might be required to make space for returning players.

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Rookie quarterback Tyson Bagent launched a pass down the right sideline, and Darnell Mooney reeled it in as he dived to the ground. Mooney said when the Bears went into their walk-through Sunday morning, they knew they would take a deep shot to open the game, and they converted it for a 41-yard gain.

The rest of the night didn’t live up to that promise in a 30-13 Chargers victory.

Three plays after Mooney’s catch, on third-and-11, Chargers defensive end Joey Bosa sacked Bagent for a loss of 10 yards and the Bears punted. On the next drive, the Bears got behind because of Lucas Patrick’s illegal use of hands penalty — one of seven Bears penalties — and went three-and-out. On the next drive, Bagent threw an interception. On the next possession, Velus Jones Jr. dropped a touchdown pass before the Bears eventually got into the end zone.

While the Chargers offense thrived with quarterback Justin Herbert, the Bears couldn’t keep pace behind the litany of mistakes and trailed 24-7 by halftime.

After notching a win in his first career start last week, Bagent, the undrafted rookie from Division II Shepherd, struggled to dig the Bears out of the hole. He completed 25 of 37 passes for 232 yards with no touchdown passes and two interceptions.

“Penalties are never good,” Bagent said. “You want to play clean as much as possible. And besides that, I can’t make it worse. I have to do a better job taking care of the ball.”

Now the question becomes if Bagent will have another shot to get a second victory or if starter Justin Fields will be ready to return when the Bears travel to New Orleans to face the Saints on Sunday. Coach Matt Eberflus said last week Fields was progressing in his recovery from a dislocated right thumb, and he promised to update Fields’ status Monday.

“That’s out of my control, so I’m going to attack the week the same way I always do,” Bagent said. “Everything stays the same.”

Bagent led a 14-play, 75-yard touchdown drive in the second quarter that was capped by Darrynton Evans’ 11-yard run, one of four third downs the Bears converted on that drive. Bagent scored on a 1-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter on a drive that started with the defense’s only takeaway.

But Bagent also turned the ball over twice, the first on a second-quarter pass to DJ Moore that Bagent called a miscommunication. Mooney said Moore ran the correct route based on the coverage, but Bagent expected him to run something different.

“He was expecting him to run a hitch, but based on the coverage DJ has to continue to go,” Mooney said.

Ja’Sir Taylor jumped on the pass that was well in front of Moore, and the Chargers turned the takeaway into a field goal that put them ahead 17-0.

Bagent was nearly intercepted to open the fourth quarter, but the fourth-down pass was ruled incomplete. The Chargers got the pick on the next drive when Bagent sent a pass to Mooney in the middle of the field. Mooney was hit hard, and the ball bounced off him and into the hands of safety Derwin James.

“There were a lot of plays where I’m getting through my reads and making the correct throws, and then there are a couple where I did maybe force the issue a little bit,” Bagent said. “So I’ve got to do a better job of that moving forward.”

Besides the mistakes, it didn’t help the Bears that the run game wasn’t up to their recent standards.

The Bears had totaled at least 162 rushing yards in each of their last four games. They had been held to fewer than 100 yards on the ground in only one other game, Week 2 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

So putting up only 73 rushing yards — on 2.9 yards per carry — was out of character. Yes, they trailed almost the entire game, and that played into the total. But tight end Cole Kmet said he thought the Bears also lacked physicality in the run game, especially compared with a week earlier against the Las Vegas Raiders.

“It just didn’t come with us from Chicago, which is too bad because that’s our identity and that’s what we need to play into,” Kmet said. “That edge we’ve usually got in the run game, I didn’t feel like it was there this week.”

That the performance came on “Sunday Night Football” made it all the more disappointing.

“As a kid, these are the games you dream about playing in, nationally televised and all that stuff,” Kmet said. “So when you have that type of performance out there, you’re definitely not too happy about it.”

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