Holmes: Postgame Notes From Bears Locker Room
Well, we found out that winning this game was important to Lovie Smith. The Bears starters played the entire game and came up short in the regular season finale 10-3.
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Well, we found out that winning this game was important to Lovie Smith. The Bears starters played the entire game and came up short in the regular season finale 10-3.
This time of year everyone wants to talk about who deserves what awards, and many debates arise. For the Bears, the MVP of the defense is simple...it's the defense.
After sitting out Wednesday and Thursday's practices with an ankle injury, Bears' receiver Earl Bennett returned to the field on Friday.
A staple of the Bears' defense under Lovie Smith has been forcing turnovers. While that's lacked over the past few games, expect the Bears to turn that around.
The Bears-Packers rivalry started in 1921, a 20-0 Bears' victory, and has resulted in 180 regular season matchups. According to LeRoy Butler, the rivalry changed when Lovie Smith was hired as the Bears' head coach.
There has been some debate as to whether or not the Bears' starters will play in Sunday's game against the Green Bay Packers, and also if they should play.
The Minnesota Vikings finally did something right this season. By beating the Philadelphia Eagles, the Vikings gave the Bears a guaranteed first round bye in the NFC Playoffs.
After a 7-9 season, and missing the playoffs for the third straight season, people were demanding drastic change. But the biggest change, as Lance Briggs put it, was no change.
Mike Martz had doubts about returning to coach before he joined the Bears for this season. Martz was just happy to be with a team again, now he's enjoying the rise to the top with the Bears.
No team has risen toward the NFL's elite in more stunning fashion than the Chicago Bears.
It's fair to say that the Chicago Bears have already exceeded all expectations this season.
Don't let the results get in the way of a good argument. At least that seems to be the rallying cry for the hardest-core advocates for a Bears' coaching change after this season.
All the talk this week from the Bears' players about the change of venue for the Bears-Vikings Monday night game, has been negative. But history tells us that it could still be better than the alternative.
There has been concern over the field at TCF Bank Stadium being safe enough to play and it has been said a few times that it will be. However, some of the Vikings' players have expressed concern, even describing the field as being as hard as concrete. LISTEN: LOVIE SMITH INTERVIEW
It seems the cold weather has been downplayed by the Bears lately and that's no surprise. This is just a part of the late season for Chicago. On the other hand, Minnesota is used to playing in the Metrodome. Who will have the advantage?
The Chicago Bears are hoping to play better in the frigid weather against the Vikings than they did against the Patriots. The Bears defense know they need to get turnovers and haven't been able to accomplish this in two weeks. They also know they could face QB Joe Webb and have been preparing to stop Adrian Peterson.
Lovie Smith takes constant criticism from the media and fans. But the players show unwavering support for their head coach, and the reason for that is simple, they trust him.
So far this week, there has been plenty of discussion about where the Bears-Vikings game will be played. And it seems as if that discussion hasn't reached Halas Hall.
Like most things in sports, no two athletes do something the same. In baseball, some batters use pine tar and some use batting gloves. NFL quarterbacks can be similar when it comes to the way they throw the football and the condition of the ball as well.
In the Bears' last six games they're 5-1. That one loss, as we all know, was an ugly game for the Bears that has some fans worry about the future of the team. But the big picture goal is still attainable.
The Bears went from playing their best football of the season, to playing their worst game of the season. Despite the 36-7 loss to the Patriots, the Bears can still lock up the division, and a playoff berth, with a win over the Vikings and a Green Bay loss.
So the Bears are not as good as the Patriots. We probably knew that, at least those of us who expressed pessimism about their chances, even in mythically-advantageous weather.
Continuos snow, high winds, and frigid temperatures were not enough to stop Tom Brady and the New England offense from blowing out the Chicago Bears. LISTEN: GAME HIGHLIGHTS - LOVIE SMITH
The late Harold Coffin, a humor columnist for the Associated Press, once said, "envy is the art of counting the other fellow's blessings instead of your own."
The Bears are who they are. They trust their schemes and rely on their players to make plays. And when that combination works, the wins pile up.
In an annual February tradition, some couples had the honor of exchanging or renewing vows on Sunday morning at the top of the Chicago skyscraper that was once the tallest building in the world.
The ages of the victims range from 17 to 68, according to police.
A stretch of busy Dempster Street was shut down in the north Chicago suburb of Niles early Sunday after a vehicle hit a pedestrian.
A driver was killed early Sunday when a sport-utility vehicle hit a Chicago Transit Authority bus in Chicago's Pilsen community.
A woman was in custody after another woman was slashed in Chicago's Roseland neighborhood this weekend.
The footage is included in a video that promotes false claims that the 2020 presidential election was rigged against Mr. Trump.
The FBI has arrested "one of the key participants" behind the attack on U.S. facilities in Benghazi, Libya, in 2012 that killed four Americans.
A new push to pass a GOP elections bill known as the SAVE America Act is underway in Congress, but Democrats warn the proposal could disenfranchise millions of eligible voters.
As immigration sweeps expand nationwide, the work of justifying detentions is overwhelming federal prosecutors, who are being forced to sideline a range of other cases in order to keep pace.
Marimar Martinez, the Chicago woman shot five times by a Border Patrol agent in October, plans to attend President Trump's State of the Union address to Congress later this month, according to her attorney.
This week marks Identity Theft Awareness Week, and Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza emphasized some safety tips Monday for avoiding and dealing with identity theft.
A controversial data center in Naperville, Illinois, could be the cause to pack a city council meeting there on Tuesday night.
Police in the west Chicago suburb of Geneva are warning of a scam involving spoofed phone numbers.
Protesters on Tuesday were cranking up the heat on Peoples Gas over a recently proposed rate hike that would add an additional $10 to $11 a month to utility bills.
A lawsuit filed late last month took Chicago-based McDonald's to task over the McRib sandwich, calling its name a form of false advertising.
Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital announced this week that it is planning to open a new pediatric hospital in the west Chicago suburb of Downers Grove.
It has been nearly six years since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and one of the many questions doctors are still working to answer concerns the long-term effects.
Leaders from Cook County, the Illinois Department of Human Services, and the Greater Chicago Food Depository denounced changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program on Wednesday.
The University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center has received a grant from The Ralph Lauren Corporate Foundation for a new cancer center.
Chicago's Lurie Children's Hospital said Tuesday that it is no longer initiating gender-affirming medical treatment for minors.
A Near West Side diner known for drawing in Blackhawks fans and players is up for sale.
January may be the coldest time of the year, but Chicago is already looking forward to summer farmers' markets.
A development proposal issued this month calls for the replacement of a building housing a Giordiano's pizzeria in Chicago's Lakeview neighborhood with a new mixed-use building with 28 residential units.
United Airlines flight attendants picketed outside Chicago's Willis Tower Thursday morning as they fought for a new contract.
WSCR-AM, 670 The Score, will begin a simulcast on 104.3 FM next month.
Brad Arnold, the founder and lead singer of the 3 Doors Down has died following "his courageous battle with cancer," the rock band announced Saturday on social media.
Gamers across the world can now recreate drone strikes in Ukraine from the comfort of their own home, with this newly released game.
The members of Ratboys were teenagers when they met by chance, and now in their 30s, the Chicago band formed by two college friends almost two decades ago appears to be on the brink of something big.
Chuck Negron, a founding member of Three Dog Night whose lead vocals powered a string of hits for one of the top rock acts of the late 1960s and early '70s has died. He was 83.
Bad Bunny used his Grammy acceptance speech on Sunday to denounce U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and call for the end of the ongoing immigration crackdown.
Suzanne Le Mignot recently celebrated a milestone with her 400th HIIT class at Orangetheory River North, while Mary Kay Kleist shows us an ice chapel built at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana.
Meteorologist Mary Kay Kleist has your 6 a.m. First Alert Weather forecast for Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026.
Families and coaches are beyond proud that their players are representing their communities in the big game. Asal Rezaei reports.
Police were investigating after a 10-year-old girl was found dead in Chicago’s Bronzeville community this weekend.
The Seattle Seahawks' Julian Love, Rylie Mills, and Eric Saubert, along with the New England Patriots' Robert Spillane, are just some who trace their football beginnings to Chicagoland high schools.
Police were investigating after a 10-year-old girl was found dead in Chicago's Bronzeville community this weekend.
A driver was killed early Sunday when a sport-utility vehicle hit a Chicago Transit Authority bus in Chicago's Pilsen community.
A driver was killed in a crash involving a sport-utility vehicle and a semi-trailer truck on the Bishop Ford Freeway on Chicago's Far South Side early Sunday.
A father says his 15-year-old son was injured during full-contact drills without padding at practice.
Family and former coaches expressed pride knowing that players will be representing their communities on one of the biggest stages in sports.
Fewer Chicago kids are getting the dental care they need, and some dentists are blaming Chicago Public Schools.
Cynthia Eason recounted the moment Chicago police officers raided her family's home in 2018.
Water bills could be going up in several Chicago suburbs and other parts of Illinois, as Illinois American Water seeks a rate increase to fund infrastructure improvements.
The case involves a Chicago grandmother, her daughter, and her four grandchildren, who all said that Chicago police officers pointed guns at them during the botched raid.
Former Mayor Rahm Emanuel no longer will have to testify about an alleged "code of silence" at the Chicago Police Department, after a federal judge reversed an earlier ruling that would have allowed him to take the stand in a lawsuit over a botched police raid.
Lindsey Vonn, who came out of retirement to compete in the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Games, was airlifted off the mountain.
Family and former coaches expressed pride knowing that players will be representing their communities on one of the biggest stages in sports.
Illinois led 39-35 at halftime after six ties and nine lead changes and was ahead by nine points early in the second half.
The Bulls led 104-97 after closing the third period on a 16-2 run, but Denver started the final quarter on a 20-2 spurt to take the lead for good.
More than 35 local, state and federal agencies have been working for the last 18 months to prepare for Super Bowl LX in Santa Clara, California.
A woman was in custody after another woman was slashed in Chicago's Roseland neighborhood this weekend.
Local and federal authorities said "investigators are actively inspecting the information provided in the message for its authenticity" regarding the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie.
A South Side community came together on Friday, hoping for justice after a woman was shot and killed while her baby was in the back seat of their car earlier this week.
A Chicago city employee was found shot to death Friday morning inside an apartment in the West Ridge neighborhood.
Actor Timothy Busfield has been indicted on four counts of criminal sexual contact of a child, officials said Friday.