The 2018 Chicago Bears<\/a> roll into the playoffs with a full head of steam after beating the Minnesota Vikings<\/a> on the road. Next, they welcome the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles<\/a> to Soldier Field; fitting as they begin their own championship run. Will the Eagles and former-Bear Alshon Jeffery<\/strong><\/a> make this a one-and-done for Chicago?<\/p>\n Chicago had not made the postseason since 2010<\/a>. That year they lost in the conference championship<\/a>\u00a0to the rival Green Bay Packers<\/a>. A 24-17 victory in week 15<\/a> ended any chance of a repeat. Minnesota entered week 17 needing a win to even qualify for the playoffs. They certainly figured to have the mental edge as they were fighting for more than the Bears who were pretty much locked into the three-seed<\/a> by halftime.<\/p>\n What actually took place was the Bears looking like a team primed for a deep playoff run. Chicago dominated time of possession<\/a>, held the Vikings to 10 points in their building, and eliminated them from contention<\/a>. That this was the same team that took quarterback Mitchell Trubisky out for two weeks with a shoulder injury<\/a> makes it that much sweeter.<\/p>\n The 2010<\/a> Bears were 21st<\/a> in scoring offense and 29th<\/a> in total yards. They also lost in the NFC Championship<\/a> to the Aaron Rodgers<\/strong><\/a>-led Packers due to blown coverage<\/a>. This year\u2019s version checks in at an under-the-radar ninth<\/a> in scoring. They are a pedestrian 21st<\/a> in yards, though.<\/p>\n That is undoubtedly due to short fields provided by the third-ranked<\/a> defense in terms of yards per game. When teams do move the ball they have to score on the\u00a0best<\/a>\u00a0defense in that department. 2010\u2019s was also adept at causing turnovers, notching\u00a035<\/a> takeaways. The Bears have 36<\/a> this year.<\/p>\n Perhaps this squad is closer to the one that went to the Super Bowl<\/a> in 2006<\/a> but lost to Peyton Manning<\/strong><\/a> and the Indianapolis Colts<\/a>. The defenses are very similar statistically in points allowed (2006<\/a>, 2018<\/a>). This year\u2019s team does rank higher in yards allowed at third<\/a> with 299.7\u00a0per game compared to ninth<\/a>\u00a0(306.2) in ’06. The caveat is those Bears ranked second<\/a> in points scored and 14th<\/a> in yards allowed per game as well.<\/p>\n Even those rankings, however, are misleading. They ranked second<\/a>\u00a0in ’06, scoring 26.8 PPG and are ninth<\/a> with 26.3 PPG this year. The run offense was 12th<\/a> (123.4 YPG) in 2006 and is quietly 11th<\/a> (121.1 YPG) this year. The passing game ranked higher in \u201906 (17th<\/a>) than in 2018 (21st<\/a>), but with less yardage, 201.6 to 222.8, respectively.<\/p>\n Some would say this team is reminiscent of the 2005<\/a> Bears that lost in the divisional round<\/a> to Steve Smith Sr.<\/a><\/strong> and the Carolina Panthers<\/a>. The Bears could only muster 185 passing yards and 97 yards on the ground. The difference is this team is worlds better on offense than that one, which ranked 26th<\/a> in points and 28th<\/a> in yards per game.<\/p>\n This week, there will certainly be comparisons to the 2001<\/a>\u00a0team that lost in the divisional round<\/a> to the Eagles. That year was also similar to this one offensively as they ranked 11th<\/a> in points and tied for 24th<\/a> in yards. The defense that year was textbook bend-but-don\u2019t-break; a mediocre 15th<\/a> in yards allowed but were first<\/a> in scoring. Quarterback\u00a0Jim Miller<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0left that game with an injury<\/a>, leading to the Bears\u2019 demise.<\/p>\n This was pretty much the story for the Bears from \u201986-\u201900<\/a>. Chicago made the playoffs just six times in 15 seasons; making one conference championship and losing four times in the divisional round. None of the late 80\u2019s or early 90\u2019s teams had quite what this team does on both sides of the ball.<\/p>\n None of them could recapture the magic of the \u201985 season. That team is obviously the pinnacle in the City of Chicago. They ranked second<\/a> in points and seventh<\/a> in yards while ranking first in points<\/a> and yards<\/a> allowed. Simply put, they were dominant.<\/p>\n As these Bears roll into the playoffs, Head Coach Matt Nagy<\/strong><\/a> has shown to be plenty aware of Chicago Bears history<\/a>; ‘The Freezer Left<\/a>‘ was evidence of that. Surely he wants to avenge that loss; as well as stick it to a former colleague in Eagles Head Coach Doug Pederson<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n The Bears roll into the playoffs comparing favorably to some of their better past renditions. None of this has any bearing on what will happen this coming Sunday at Soldier Field.\u00a0What does matter is this team is clicking on all cylinders right now.<\/p>\n Hopefully, safety Eddie Jackson<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0and wide receiver Allen Robinson<\/strong><\/a> can return this week. Hopefully, the Bears roll into the playoffs and all the way to a championship. They might not have a cool song<\/a>, but these Bears have some pretty good moves<\/a> of their own. They even have their own club<\/a>. Pretty Super, huh?<\/p>\n Main photo:Last Time We Saw Our Heroes\u2026<\/h2>\n
Repeating History?<\/h2>\n
Bad News Bears<\/h2>\n
Learning From History<\/h2>\n
\nEmbed from Getty Images<\/a>