Nobody ever wants to get caught looking ahead in the NFL. Matt Nagy always says it’s a 0-0 record each week. The Chicago Bears want to go 1-0. Any ideas of the playoffs or even, dare we say it, a Super Bowl? Those need to be saved for a later date. Yet after a 5-1 start, it appears some players on the team aren’t afraid to feel confident. Chief among them being Bilal Nichols.
The former Bears 5th round pick got off to a slow start this year but has really started to turn up the juice lately with a sack, three QB hits, and three tackles for loss in the past three games. Yet nobody has noticed because the Bears defense has dominated their opponents for the most part. It really is a lot of fun to watch.
Nichols feels that energy more than most.
He went on The Zach Gelb Show to talk about how things have gone. Is he surprised about the 5-1 start? Not really. Nichols explained that the entire Bears team was so upset with how last season ended. Guys were locked into the offseason from the beginning. The hard work was relentless. Everybody pushing each other.
That is a big reason the team has managed to win so many tight games. That along with the steady, confident presence of quarterback Nick Foles. That might explain why, when asked if he genuinely felt the Bears could win a Super Bowl, the 24-year old didn’t even blink.
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“Yes I do. Without a doubt. I feel like we’re built for it and I feel like we match up well against other teams.”
Bilal Nichols shouldn’t apologize for having high expectations
Facts are facts. What does every team in the NFL play for? To win the Super Bowl. If you’re not aiming to win a championship, then you’re in the wrong profession. This Bears team has every right to set that level of expectation for themselves. People can call them pretenders or “paper tigers.” It doesn’t change the facts.
This is a 5-1 football team. They have one of the best defenses in the NFL. A unit stacked from front to back with All-Pro talent. They also have a quarterback who won a Super Bowl already. Something that is getting a little more overlooked than it should. The ingredients are there for Chicago to be a player in January.
Is it a perfect formula?
Of course not. Having the 28th ranked offense in the NFL is not ideal. The Bears have so much they still need to work on. Yet they’ve gotten this far. Confidence is contagious and it’s been spreading throughout that locker room. This team feels it can play against anybody. They’re not wrong.
Every single game has been decided by single digits. Call it winning ugly if you want. The Bears just call it winning. Period. It doesn’t matter what happens during the game as long as the final result is a victory. Nichols is ready to buy into what they are capable of. How long will it be before others follow?
The next three games, all against likely playoff teams, could tell the story.