🏈 Can This NFL Team Take The Heat?

The Chicago Bears face enormous pressure. And their season couldn’t start with a tougher test. [View in browser]( [FOX SPORTS INSIDER WITH MARTIN ROGERS] Even during a resurgence that remains a work in progress, the Chicago Bears haven’t just had to endure pressure — they’ve been slapped in the face by it. Last season, the Bears showed they have become a legitimately competitive football team. But when the stakes were highest, Chicago behaved like naughty children at summer camp tiptoeing into the pantry to poach a late-night snack: nervous, tentative, and ultimately exposed. Never mind their 12-4 record and a stroll to the NFC North title; last season will largely be remembered for two key stumbles. First was the season opener that saw Aaron Rodgers lead his Green Bay Packers to a hobbling, one-legged, 20-point comeback victory. And then there was that kick — the one that dumped the team out of the postseason and turned Cody Parkey’s name into a cuss word in the Windy City. As a new season beckons, tensions are rising around a Chicago fan base desperate for a championship run — 33 seasons and counting since its lone Super Bowl win. There is a sense this team could be seriously good, but no one is quite sure if the squad is equipped to handle those make-or-break moments when they inevitably arrive. There’s no better test of the Bears’ mettle right off the bat than their season opener. Like a ghost rapping on the window at night, the Packers and Rodgers will reappear on Thursday for an Opening Day do-over. Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky and the Chicago defense, led by the incomparable Khalil Mack, will be in the spotlight again, with a chance to show they’re now made of sterner mental stuff. “As crushed as we were to go 12-5 and lose where we did, the players now believe that we can win it all,” head coach Matt Nagy told reporters. “That’s half of the battle. Now it’s, ‘OK, how do we do that?’” How, indeed? Nagy won NFL Coach of the Year for having hoisted the Bears from last-place ignominy and sparking the feeling that a Super Bowl run was possible. He has built an on-field powerhouse in rapid time, but that’s not enough by itself. [STORY IMAGE 1] There is no doubt they are an excellent team, with a defense that is a true, collective monster, anchored by one of the best and biggest NFL acquisitions of recent years in Mack. They are strong at nearly every position (let’s not talk about kicker), but they’re not proven perennial contenders ... not yet. The key is winning when it matters, and the intensity of the desire in Chicago can be both a boost and a curse. The players feel it. Will enough of them prove to be the special type of athlete who thrives on the pressure and uses it as fuel? Or will another hapless Parkey-style goat emerge at some point over the coming months — albeit probably without the drama of the now-infamous double doink? Nagy has tried everything to not just get his team physically and tactically ready, but to simulate pressurized situations. There were moments in camp where only Trubisky, a receiver and a defender were on the field, with everyone else lined up on the sidelines. If a pass was completed for a gain, the entire defense had to do a physical drill. If it was incomplete, the whole offense had to do likewise. The coach’s obsession with recreating pressure turned his search for a kicker into a farce, if you listen to some of those who took part in the competition. The man who earned the dubious privilege of winning the role was Eddy Pineiro, formerly undrafted, and now with what ESPN calls the “most unstable job” in the league. Chicago holds its collective breath. “If you have a critical missed kick early in the year, given the heartbreak they suffered last year, that could be worth a couple of losses,” [FOX Sports’ Nick Wright said on First Things First](. [STORY IMAGE 2] Starting the year against the Packers is poetic justice. This is one of the great rivalries in the league, as well as its oldest. Trash talk between the teams isn’t even necessary, because it has been a constant two-way barrage between the cities ever since the schedule was released. “Like a gross glop of melted cheddar oozing down the side of an arterially offensive Wisconsin butter burger, the Green Bay Packers are heading south toward Soldier Field to lose to the Chicago Bears in Thursday night’s NFL season opener,” Chicago Tribune columnist Rex Huppke wrote this week. There is no shortage of hype, and Chicago’s army of support is amped up to the max. In that sense, they perhaps have the perfect quarterback in Trubisky, who talks and plays as if he’s downed a shot of rocket fuel for breakfast. It has not always worked out. In a 15-6 signature victory over the Los Angeles Rams that was largely rescued by the defense last season, there were concerns about the young QB’s impetuosity. He promises to be a little more composed this time around, if not calmer or quieter. “If we get caught up in the moment and you let your adrenaline take over and you don't do what the team needs you to do, then you could do things that are out of character,” Trubisky said. “You put your team in a bad spot. We just need to settle down, play our game, have a great week of practice, and make sure that carries over to the game, and really just have tunnel vision heading into Soldier Field.” The Bears have tunnel vision for their season. They are sick of losing over and over again. They want to take this opportunity — with a stacked team and an enterprising young coach whose rivals can’t yet figure out — and make it count. Such things aren’t always as easy as they sound, though. Not when you have Aaron Rodgers — and a pesky little adversary called pressure about to reenter your life. [STORY IMAGE 3] Here’s what others have said ... Robert Mays, The Ringer: “As a Chicago resident and Bears fan, I can tell you that the attitude around this city is Super Bowl or bust. This roster has no noticeable weaknesses. The Bears had the best defense in football last season, and they’ll return nine starters on that side of the ball. On offense, the Bears return 10 of their 11 starters, and some would say the one new face—running back David Montgomery—is actually an upgrade over last year’s starter, Jordan Howard.” Jon Greenberg, The Athletic: “So are the Bears going to be good? Last year’s 12-4 team was a surprise, and as a result, this year’s team has expectations. I understood why the failure of Cody Parkey’s kick has resonated for so long, but the fact is Parkey’s doinks lost a divisional playoff game. Much in the same way the 2015 Cubs weren’t a World Series team, in truth, the 2018 Bears weren’t a Super Bowl team. The Bears’ loss really wasn’t the end of the world. If they lost the next week on the road, it would’ve been almost expected. The Bears didn’t have to do a lot this offseason, but what they did was positive and in the flow of what they’re building.” Phil Rogers, Forbes: “It’s easy to think big when you’re coming off a 12-win season, especially when all of the big pieces remain in place. Nothing’s guaranteed in pro sports but it will be a shocker if the Bears don’t roll to a second consecutive postseason spot for the first time since 2005-06, when the quarterbacks were Rex Grossman and Kyle Orton, not an ascending star like Mitchell Trubisky.” [IN OTHER WORDS] - Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield understands his place – and importance – in Cleveland, [writes Zac Jackson at]( [The Athletic.]( - From castoff at Ohio State and to difference-maker in the SEC: [Matt Hayes at]( Report]( [details]( the new tone Joe Burrow has set at LSU. - [Arash Markazi at the]( [Los Angeles Times]( gets a strong reception to the idea of a statue for Lisa Leslie at Staples Center. [THE INTERNET IS UNDEFEATED] [THE INTERNET IS UNDEFEATED]( Ezekiel Elliott is now the NFL's highest-paid running back, but that doesn't mean he can't find himself humbled on the internet. The ink was barely dry on Zeke's massive contract when Ohio State assistant AD Mark Pantoni hit the former Buckeyes running back with a picture of Young Zeke™ï¸ flexing in front of a mirror. Elliott, whose "[feed me]( gesture is a meme all of its own, told Pantoni to "chill." In the end, Zeke got fed two ways ⁠— with a monster new contract and a tiny slice of humble pie alongside it. [VIEWER'S GUIDE] Green Bay Packers at Chicago Bears (NBC, 8:20 p.m. ET) Yes, the NFL is officially back. What better way to kick off the 2019 NFL season than by pitting two bitter rivals against each other? The Packers have a new head coach and a healthy Aaron Rodgers, and the Bears have a chip on their shoulder. That’s a recipe for some excellent Thursday night football. Minnesota Twins at Boston Red Sox (MLB.tv, 7:10 p.m. ET) Beyond football, there’s still a bustling MLB playoff race going on. The surprising Twins have a healthy lead in the AL Central, while the Sox are 5.5 games out of a Wild Card spot, with their elimination number down to 18. Overwatch League Playoffs (Twitch, ESPN+, 7 p.m. ET) It’s Week 2 of the OWL Playoffs, and the next stop is this season’s Grand Finals. Two matches are on the slate today: Seoul Dynasty vs. Vancouver Titans, followed by Los Angeles Gladiators vs. Hangzou Spark at 10 p.m. ET. [BET OF THE DAY] [BET OF THE DAY] Green Bay at Chicago: UNDER 46.5 (-110) Assuming the books are right — and they almost always are! — we’re in for quite a back-and-forth season-opening game tonight. To wit: 54% of the moneyline wagers on the game are on the Bears at -154, but 69% of the spread tickets are on Green Bay +3 (at -110). So trying to pick a team side might not be the most fruitful action you can take. On the other hand, a mind-blowing 97% of the total score bets are on the under of 46.5. A hard-fought, closely-contested, NFC North clash? Count us in! [WHAT THEY SAID] “Before you can win, you have to believe you are worthy.” — Mike Ditka [FOLLOW FOX SPORTS] [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [YouTube]( [Instagram]( Download the FOX Sports app for live scores and streaming [App Store]( [Google Play]( Available on: [tvOS] [Roku] [fireTV] [androidtv] [XBOX] [Google chromecast] [tvOS] [Roku] [fireTV] [androidtv] [XBOX] [Google chromecast] Forwarded this message? [Sign up](. Trademark & Copyright Notice: ™ and © 2019 FOX Media LLC and FOX Sports Interactive Media, LLC. All rights reserved. Please do not reply to this message. If you do not wish to receive emails like this in the future, please [unsubscribe](. FOX Sports respects your privacy. Click [here]( to view our Privacy Policy. FOX.com Business & Legal Affairs - Manager Digital Media P.O. Box 900 Beverly Hills, CA 90213-0900