While the Bears are still trying to move forward off the field with their long-running stadium pursuit, the NFL team is making unexpectedly rapid progress on the field.

The Bears claimed a 19–17 walkoff win Sunday over the rival Vikings—the team’s seventh win in eight games after an 0–2 start. Chicago now leads the NFC North, arguably the league’s toughest division, by a half game over the Packers, and it’s the first time the Bears have been in that position this late in the season since 2018.

“This isn’t the same old Bears,” said Chicago safety Kevin Byard III. “This culture—we’ve been battle-tested. [We’re] never going to apologize for winning. But what I will say is that I don’t think as a team yet, we’ve discovered that killer instinct.”

A key part of the Bears’ accelerated ascendancy is their repeated ability to prevail in close games. Chicago is 3–0 in games decided by two points or fewer, and 5–1 in contests decided by five points or fewer. Additionally, the Bears have by far the NFL’s top turnover differential with a margin of plus-16.

Both games against the Packers are still on the Bears’ schedule, however. A Dec. 7 contest at Lambeau Field is currently slated for 1 p.m. ET, while a Sat., Dec. 20 rematch at Soldier Field currently doesn’t have a specified start time. Either game currently stands as a candidate for flexing into a primetime broadcast slot, given the rising playoff implications involved. A stacked back-end off the schedule for Chicago also includes other games with the Steelers, Eagles, 49ers, and Lions—all postseason contenders.

Building Matters

The competitive rebirth is happening as the Bears remain somewhat stalled on their plan to build a new domed stadium and mixed-use development on team-owned land in suburban Arlington Heights, Ill.

A revised plan now calls for the Bears to pay for the stadium costs themselves, but the team is still looking for $855 million in public-sector help for related infrastructure. An Illinois fall legislative session, however, came and went without significant progress on that front, or any resolution on a push by the Bears to be able to negotiate their own local tax rates for the Arlington Heights property. 

Franchise leaders have said that the overall stadium cost, already more than $5 billion, rises by more than $10 million per month without a final plan in place. 

Among the still-outstanding issues is the more than $534 million in remaining debt on a 2003 renovation of Soldier Field in downtown Chicago. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker has said the team should pay that before any legislation related to the Arlington Heights project is considered.

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