![\"Why](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/F01FDFE984338628DE33CDC17D57806C.jpg\")
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Chicago Bears fans knew the feeling. They felt it all of last year.<\/p>\n
The Raiders lined up to attempt a field goal with 38 seconds left. After storming back to take a late lead, the Bears were on the cusp of stealing a defeat from the jaws of victory. If the collapse vs. Minnesota in Week 1 was all too familiar, losing in the final seconds might\u2019ve felt as routine as a morning coffee.<\/p>\n
What happened next was different.<\/p>\n
Defensive back Josh Blackwell blocked the game-winning field goal attempt. Is that allowed?<\/p>\n
Are the Chicago Bears allowed to deal the opposition crippling, heartbreaking and agonizing losses? Usually, it\u2019s the other way around.<\/p>\n
That wasn\u2019t the case Sunday. The Bears rallied to beat the Raiders 25-24 on the road.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“It\u2019s a testament to the team that we have,” Blackwell said. “We\u2019re not the same old Bears. We\u2019re different.”<\/p>\n
The one stark, looming example of how these Bears aren\u2019t the same as the Bears of old is, quite simply, the road win.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The last time the Bears won a road game on Sunday was December 26, 2021, in Seattle. Matt Nagy was the head coach. Nick Foles was the quarterback. Jimmy Graham caught the last touchdown, and Damiere Byrd caught the go-ahead two-point conversion.<\/p>\n
Nearly four years later, the Bears got their next road win. They got that monkey off their back. Now, they have a chance to prove they\u2019re not the Bears of old under head coach Ben Johnson by getting more monkeys off their back.<\/p>\n
“As of late, when we get into those close games, normally it goes the other way,” Safety Kevin Byard said. “It was huge for us to, I\u2019ll say get that monkey off our back too. We got our first win last week, but to be able to win on the road, it\u2019s huge for our culture.”<\/p>\n
That Bears culture is a bit different under Johnson. Part of it is because the results have been there.<\/p>\n
For example, the Bears benched starting left tackle Braxton Jones, moved Theo Benedet out to left tackle and plugged rookie Ozzy Trapilo at right tackle because of the injured Darnell Wright. It wasn\u2019t perfect, but it worked. The two blocked on a 12-play, go-ahead touchdown drive in the fourth quarter.<\/p>\n
That was a big moment for a rookie head coach who isn\u2019t afraid to make changes.<\/p>\n
“We were just at the point where we weren’t doing a whole lot on offense,” Johnson said. “We felt like that might give a little spark and ignite us on offense.”<\/p>\n
Even more proof lies in how quarterback Caleb Williams won NFC Offensive Player of the Week, and has begun to look like the quarterback the Bears have always wanted.\u00a0<\/p>\n
More importantly, the Bears won a game thanks to all three phases coming together when it mattered most. The Bears understand this, especially with how the narrative played out last season in a 10-game losing streak and with how the Bears had a 5-19 record in one-score games under the previous regime.<\/p>\n
“The narrative is that the Bears\u00a0<\/p>\n
can\u2019t finish out the games that are close,” Blackwell said. “This team is different. We took our licks in the beginning, and it\u2019s time to lock in.”<\/p>\n
The Bears couldn\u2019t finish those games. In the last three seasons, they had teams that didn\u2019t have the roster or staff to piece together close wins when they needed it.<\/p>\n
Frankly, it\u2019s not easy to win games in the NFL, either. Think about NFL MVP Steve Young, who had a sideline camera crew famously record him as he asked teammates to “get this monkey off my back” in the final minutes of Super Bowl XXIX.<\/p>\n
The Bears feel like this Raiders win was a monkey taken off their backs. It\u2019s not Super Bowl big, but Sunday showed Ben Johnson\u2019s Bears can win a close game. What does help is how Johnson is coaching them to forget how to panic.<\/p>\n
The Bears were down 14-6 to Las Vegas. That\u2019s a familiar story Bears fans have heard before.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“It’s easy to get frustrated, but we don’t panic,” Johnson said. “That’s not who we are, that’s not what we do.”<\/p>\n
After wins like Sunday, it\u2019s easier to believe that\u2019s not the norm for Johnson\u2019s Bears. Especially considering this is a roster of players that haven\u2019t tasted many NFL wins before.<\/p>\n
Now, the Bears enter the bye week with that belief. They have two weeks to prepare for the Washington Commanders, and a stretch of games that looks much different than it did to start the season.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Bears don\u2019t have to prepare for Joe Burrow or Russell Wilson coming out of the bye week. They can focus on holding on to the winning ways they showed they have in Las Vegas.<\/p>\n
Sunday went down as a game that focused on what the Bears can do, as opposed to their shortcomings.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s what winning does.<\/p>\n
“Any win, it feels good,” Tyrique Stevenson said.<\/p>\n
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