Bears coach Ben Johnson not ready to talk playoffs with team in sole possession of NFC North lead

CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Bears find themselves in unfamiliar territory in sole possession of the NFC North lead and staring down at the rest of the division.

The Bears (7-3) have won seven of eight after squeezing past the Minnesota Vikings 19-17 to pull out yet another down-to-the-wire game, and they’re looking more and more like a team that could be headed to the playoffs for the first time since 2020 even if they’re not making it easy on themselves.

Just don’t mention the postseason possibility to coach Ben Johnson.

“We’re way far away from that,” he said Monday. “I haven’t even been thinking about that. We’re still in the third quarter of the season. That’s really where we’re focused on. We set goals once we hit the halfway mark and once we make it through the three-quarter mark, then we’ll start shifting our focus. We’re in a good spot right now for where we want to be this quarter of the season and we’ve got a tough opponent coming to town here on Sunday.”

The Bears hold a slim lead in the division over Green Bay (6-3-1), with Detroit (6-4) one game out of first place and Minnesota (4-6) at the bottom. They host AFC North leader Pittsburgh on Sunday.

Five of the past seven games have been decided by five points or fewer, with Chicago winning each of those five contests. This season, the Bears are 3-0 in games decided by two points or fewer and 5-1 when the margin is five or less.

What’s working

Takeaways. Chicago leads the NFL with 22 takeaways and a minus-16 turnover margin after intercepting J.J. McCarthy twice.

Kevin Byard had one, giving him a league-best five picks this season, and Nahshon Wright delivered the other when he made a highlight-reel grab in the corner of the end zone. He leaped to pick off a fade intended for Jordan Addison and landed on his back.

The Bears have three of the league’s top four leaders in interceptions, with Byard at the top and Wright and Tremaine Edmunds tied for second with Jacksonville’s Devin Lloyd with four.

What needs help

Caleb Williams’ accuracy. Though he set a franchise single-season record with his league-leading fifth comeback, Williams had a shaky outing. He was 16 for 32 for 193 and again missed several potential big plays.

“It’s something we’re going to continue to work on,” Johnson said. “That stuff doesn’t just happen overnight. That’s a work in progress. And that’s been the case everywhere I’ve been so I’m not concerned about that at all.”

Through Sunday, Williams ranked 27th among qualifying leaders in the NFL in completion percentage at 59.7 and was one of just four below 60%.

Stock up

Return specialist Devin Duvernay. A former All-Pro, Duvernay had his biggest moment with the Bears. The Vikings had just scored the go-ahead touchdown with 50 seconds remaining when he returned the kickoff 56 yards, setting up a 48-yard field goal by Cairo Santos as time expired.

A third-round draft pick by Baltimore out of Texas in 2020, Duvernay played four seasons with the Ravens. He was first-team All-Pro in 2021 and made the Pro Bowl again the following year. Duvernay spent last season in Jacksonville before signing with the Bears.

Stock down

WR DJ Moore. The Bears need more from Moore, who had one catch for 18 yards while being targeted three times and carried once for 3 yards. He was wide open on a dropped pass and even bobbled the ball he caught. Moore is second on the Bears with 421 yards receiving and third in receptions with 31.

Injuries

CB Tyrique Stevenson (hip/calf) was injured in a collision with S Jaquan Brisker late in the third quarter. He returned briefly before exiting the game.

Key number

73 — The Bears ran 73 plays compared to the Vikings’ 54, leading to about a 14-minute advantage in time of possession — 36:59 to 23:01.

Next steps

The Bears host Pittsburgh on Sunday, though it wasn’t clear if they’ll face old nemesis Aaron Rodgers or Mason Rudolph. Rodgers, who is 25-5 against Chicago counting the playoffs, missed the second half of the Steelers’ win over Cincinnati because of a left wrist injury.

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