Here’s what I’m thinking about after the seventh week of the 2026 NFL regular season:

Win One for Da’ Coach

In their first home game since the passing of the legendary Mike Ditka, the Chicago Bears faced the defending AFC Champion New England Patriots. After some early season struggles, the Patriots came in on a three game win streak, looking very much like a Super Bowl contender, again.

The Bears led wire to wire, though there were some tense moments. This was a huge win. I think this proves that as long as Caleb Williams is healthy, Chicago is a legit Super Bowl contender themselves.

Williams has taken his game to an entirely different level. If he hadn’t missed three games due to a hamstring injury, he’d be in the MVP conversation, and he still might get there.

Some other thoughts I have regarding the Bears after this game:

• We’re still waiting for Rome Odunze to live up to his draft status. His numbers aren’t what you’d hope for from a top ten pick. He seems to have at least one bad drop a game and I think Luther Burden III has supplanted him as the Bears WR1. But, whenever Caleb Williams has a ‘gotta have it’ throw, he looks to Odunze, and Rome always seems to make that clutch catch.
• In an age when most kickers are nearly automatic from 50-55 yards, and many are routinely hitting close to sixty yards and beyond, Cairo Santos’ relative lack of a big leg has been a concern. But there’s more to kicking than just having a big leg. You have to have a short memory, you need to put mistakes behind you and do your job. Santos bounced a 53 yarder off the upright earlier in the game, but with less than two minutes left in the game, and the Bears up six, Santos nailed a career long 58 yarder to effectively seal the win for the Bears. What’s more, Santos has mastered the art of kicking in the elements one routinely has to deal with in Chicago (and Green Bay) in December & January. Santos’ perfection in the Wild Card game last season, while the Packers kicked missed two field goals and an extra point, had as much to do with the Bears winning as did Caleb Williams’ Iceman heroics.
• I’m gutted by the season ending injury to Cole Kmet. Kmet is such a big part of what the Bears do, even if he’s become the fifth option, at best, in the passing game. His leadership, professionalism and toughness cannot be replaced. Through the darkest days of the recent Bears past, Kmet was a bright spot. He deserves his flowers, and I’m disappointed he won’t be on this journey the rest of the season.
• Speaking of bright spots during the dark days, what the hell has happened to Jaylon Johnson? Johnson is a shell of his former Pro Bowl self. He’s actually become almost unplayable, he’s that much of a liability to the Bears defense. If the Bears are going to make a run this year, they need to upgrade at CB (more on that later).

Drake Maye

One final thought from the Thursday night game, I was wrong about Drake Maye. The Patriots have themselves a dude.

I was dismissive of Maye last year as he was the runner up for MVP. New England faced an impossibly easy schedule and an absurdly easy path through the playoffs. Maye wasn’t good in the playoffs and was terrible in the Super Bowl.

The start of this season reinforced my notion that Maye was overrated due to facing a cupcake schedule. Then, he and the Patriots started turning things around.

Thursday night was my first real up close view of Maye, and he was spectacular. His offensive line has been decimated, he’s got no wide receivers he can count on (AJ Brown looks average, at best, right now), yet Maye continued making plays and giving the Patriots a chance in a game that the Bears otherwise dominated.

Drake Maye can make all the throws, and I underestimated his athleticism and toughness. I’m very happy the Bears got Caleb Williams, and I will vociferously defend him and make the argument that he’s the best QB from the class of 2024, but Patriots fans should do the same for Drake Maye.

JJ McCarthy

When the New York Giants acquired McCarthy in the wake of Jaxson Dart’s season ending knee injury, I loved the move. Not just for the Giants, but because I thought it was a stupid move by a Bears division rival, the Minnesota Vikings.

The Vikings used a first round pick on McCarthy, then let Sam Darnold walk to hand McCarthy the starting job. They gave up on him after two years, and really just one season since he missed his entire rookie year.

McCarthy is another member of the QB class of 2024, he’s still got considerable upside. The conventional wisdom was that if Kevin O’Connell, a renowned quarterback guru, gave up on McCarthy, then there isn’t much there.

I disagree with that notion. O’Connell was part of the brain trust that drafted McCarthy. He was part of the decision to let Darnold walk in favor of McCarthy. Now, he’s hitching his wagon to Kyler Murray over McCarthy. That’s the kind of decision that eventually gets a coach fired.

McCarthy has looked pretty good for the Giants, in a small sample size, but the Vikings are 6-0, so no one is questioning the move right now. But, mark my words, by season’s end, they will.

The Dark Side

After an uneven first six games of the 2026 season, the defending champion Seattle Seahawks made an emphatic statement on Sunday night. The Seahawks, with that defense, may still be the team to beat.

Of course, I’m despairing that Seattle seemed to have found their footing a week before my Bears make a trip to the Pacific Northwest. I had long counted this one as a loss, but recent events had me thinking that maybe the Bears could pull this one off.

Now, I’m just hoping we make it out of this game healthy and we don’t embarrass ourselves. Seattle, with their 12th man, is a tough place to play. If their defense is going to play at this level, the task might very well be impossible.

The Seahawks have some ground to make up in the NFC West and they’ve already lost to San Francisco, but they have the pedigree to go on a run here and remind everyone who they are.

The Hot Seat

I think we have a new coach sitting on the hottest seat. I previously had Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach, Todd Bowles as the most likely coach to be fired during the season. Make no mistake, I am 100% certain that Bowles won’t be coaching the Buccaneers next season, but I do think he will survive the rest of this year.

The same cannot be said for New York Jets head coach Aaron Glenn. Losing to Miami, at home, is just embarrassing. Time and again Glenn has proven to be out of his depth as a head coach. The Jets have plenty of ammunition in the first round of the 2027 draft, they should land their next franchise quarterback and there is no way you can put him in Glenn’s hands. I will not be surprised if New York gets a jumpstart on the coaching search and lets Glenn go before the end of the season.

Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn’s seat gets hotter with every passing week and each boneheaded game management mistake. If they lose next week to a depleted Eagles squad, especially if it’s due to another blunder, Quinn could find himself unemployed.

I think this will be the last season that Shane Steichen is the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts, but the reason I believe that is also the reason why he’ll survive until the end of the season. The Colts have already fired their GM, the new GM will want to pick his own coach, but Indy will also not make that move during the season.

Winter is Coming

There are two divisions where every team is currently above .500; the AFC North & the NFC North.

In the NFC North, the Minnesota Vikings are 6-0, the last unbeaten team in the NFL, but I have little to no respect for them. The Vikings needed an epic to beat Green Bay at home, the beat Chicago on the road, in a monsoon and the Bears lost Caleb Williams on a play that he would have certainly scored the likely game winning touchdown. Minnesota’s other four victories were squeakers against bottom feeders; Tampa Bay, Miami, New Orleans & Indianapolis.

Last year, the Colts were the last undefeated team, and I think Minnesota is going to face the same fate. Their schedule gets drastically more difficult starting next week. Of their remaining ten games, I see only 2 as definite wins. I think by Thanksgiving, not only will Minnesota no longer be undefeated, but they won’t be in first place in the division and might even be third or worse.

The NFC North that worries me most, as a Bears fan, is unsurprisingly the Green Bay Packers. The Packers were atrocious through four games, but a beat down at Lambeau of the Bears seems to have rekindled their fire. They lost at Detroit this week, but they have every right to complain about the officiating. It was some of the worst officiating I’ve seen since the replacement referees debacle. Also, Green Bay should be looking for a new kicker.

The Packers will be getting Micah Parsons back soon, and that’s a better addition than any other team in the division can hope to make before the trade deadline.

The Detroit Lions are very similar to the Bears. An elite offense and a suspect defense. I think the Bears defense is actually a little better, and I think Chicago is, overall, the better coached team.

I still think my Chicago Bears will win the North. It won’t be easy. They need to play better against division rivals, and they need to find a way to beat some of the better non-division opponents on their schedule; Seattle, Jacksonville & Buffalo.

I think the Bears need to add some pieces on defense (more on that in a bit), but I think Chicago is the best team in the division, as long as Caleb Williams stays healthy.

As for the AFC North, I still think the Baltimore Ravens have the most talent, but they need Lamar Jackson back, and they cannot afford a stumble when he does return.

The Cincinnati Bengals have an improved defense and Joe Burrow leads a high powered aerial attack. I like the Bengals, but their lack of a running game and their inconsistency gives me pause.

The Cleveland Browns have been the surprise team of the season and they already hold victories over Baltimore & Pittsburgh, but both games were in Cleveland. I just can’t get on the Browns bandwagon, yet.

The Pittsburgh Steelers might be the most well balanced team in the division. They can run the ball, they play great defense. They’ll go as far as Aaron Rodgers and his noodle arm can take them. I don’t think that’s very far, but I also won’t be surprised if Pittsburgh wins this division, again.

Trade Deadline

I’ll start with my Chicago Bears. The Bears need defensive line and cornerback help. I think interior defensive line is more important than edge, but I wouldn’t mind an edge rusher either. Some players I’m keeping an eye on:

• Jeffrey Simmons- It would cost a fortune, at least one first round draft pick, to pry him out of Tennessee, but my god would he transform our defense.
• DeForest Buckner- It seems almost certain that Indy will trade Buckner and the Bears should definitely be interested. Not quite the impact that Simmons would have, but should be much cheaper, though the Bears could have some competition for him.
• Khalil Mack- I’d love to get Mack back in Chicago just so I can wear the #52 jersey again. Beyond sentiment, though, Mack shouldn’t cost more than a day three draft pick and he’d add some juice to our pass rush.
• Moro Ojomo- I’m not sure how eager the Eagles are to be sellers, and I’d be wary of making any deals with Howie Roseman, but I’d at least inquire about the asking price on Ojomo.

As I mentioned earlier, Jaylon Johnson has become a liability for the Bears defense. Tyrique Stevenson hasn’t been much better and Malik Muhammad is a rookie, prone to ups and downs. The Bears could use an upgrade at corner, here’s same names I’m watching:

• Tariq Woolen- Again, I’m wary of making any trade with Howie Roseman, who seems to fleece everyone, but Woolen fits the Bears profile at corner.
• Zyon McCollum- I’m not sure how eager the Buccaneers will be to be sellers. Even at 2-5, they’re not out of it in the NFC South. I’d at least call about McCollum, though.
• Alontae Taylor- Titans are certainly going to be sellers and they probably have buyer’s remorse on Taylor. It shouldn’t cost much to acquire him, but his contract might be more than the Bears are willing to take on. Played for Dennis Allen in New Orleans.
• Julius Brents- Because of his age, Miami will probably ask more for Brents than any of the other corners on this list. He has the length and athleticism that Allen loves in cornerbacks.

Here’s some thoughts on what some other contenders might do before the deadline:

• The Buffalo Bills, Dallas Cowboys & Detroit Lions are likely looking for secondary help.
• The New England Patriots, Kansas City Chiefs, Las Vegas Raiders, San Francisco 49ers & Los Angeles Rams could be shopping for wide receivers.
• The Patriots & Chiefs, along with the Green Bay Packers might be looking for offensive lineman.
• San Francisco & Dallas might also be in the market for defensive lineman.
• The Denver Broncos, Cincinnati Bengals, Minnesota Vikings & Seattle Seahawks are teams to watch if Indianapolis is willing to move Jonathan Taylor.