Playoffs? Who said anything about playoffs? Is what many Bears fans were saying during the offseason. Now, with the second half of the season into full swing, the Bears are atop the NFC North Division. The Bears have a record of 6-3 with a 1-1 record in the division. What has lead to the Bears success this year? Here’s some reason why:

First year Head Coach Matt Nagy success with developing QB’s and his high powered offense

Last year Matt Nagy was the offensive coordinator under Andy Reid in Kansas City. During his time in Kansas City, he had turned Alex Smith into an MVP caliber QB. The Chiefs traded Smith to the Redskins in the offseason in favor of second year QB Patrick Mahomes. Mahomes is now a front runner for MVP and leads the league with 31 TD’s thrown. It was Nagy last year who wanted Bears QB Trubisky for the Chiefs. The Chiefs front office eventually traded up and settled for Mahomes. Now, Nagy got his wish and works everyday with Trubisky. He has blossomed in his second year by throwing for 19 TD’s and running 3 additional TD’s on the ground. In his first year he worked with a mediocre WR core. During the offseason, the Bears brought in WR’s Allen Robinson and Taylor Gabriel along with TE Trey Burton. Nagy also has relied on his two complementary backs Jordan Howard and Tarik Cohen. Howard is the downhill backs and runs between the tackles. Cohen is used in the passing game in screens and also used for tosses and runs outside the tackles. With them working side by side opposing defenses have found it hard figuring out how to stop the Bears offense.

Addition of Khalil Mack and the Revamped Monsters of the Midway

In September the Bears pulled off the biggest trade of the year. Bears General Manager Ryan Pace gave up two first round picks to the Oakland Raiders for Khalil Mack. Mack is a former first round pick out of Buffalo back in 2014 and has been one of the best pass rushers in the league. He leads the defense with 7 sacks and had a pick six opening night in Green Bay. The Bears defense leads the league with 22 force turnovers on the season. Bears CB Kyle Fuller leads the secondary with 4 INT’s. Bears defensive coordinator Vic Fangio interviewed for the Bears head coaching opening in the offseason and had interest from others teams to fill their void, but ultimately chose to stay and work under Nagy and the Bears. Many Bears fans remembers the glory days of the Monsters of the Midway like the 85 Bears defense. Many ESPN reporters have compared this defense to them as a dominant force that helps out the offense on the other side of the ball. Many of the past Super Bowl winners have relied heavily on the defense to take to the promised land. ESPN NFL reporter and Hall of Fame QB Steve Young says, “The Bears have enough weapons on both sides of the ball that can take them all the way to the Super Bowl.” It’s only November but Bears fans are hoping for some January football which hasn’t been in Chicago since 2010.

What’s ahead for the Bears

The Bears are on playing 3 straight divisional opponents in a span of 12 days including a Thanksgiving day matchup against the Detroit Lions in Detroit. Coming up for them is a test against the leader in the NFC the Los Angeles Rams during prime time on December 9th for Sunday Night Football. If the Bears want to try and make a run for Super Bowl 52, the game against the Rams will show the NFL what the Bears have to offer.