24 Facts About Bears

1. The Bears extended Goldman last summer with the intention of taking advantage of the prime years of his career.

2. The Bears have appreciated his steady if not spectacular play over the last three seasons.

3. The Bears lost their way out of the 2018 playoffs because of missed field goal.

4. Chicago Bears intend to bring in competition for much-maligned kicker Cody Parkey, according to general manager Ryan Pace.

5. Chicago Bears intend to exercise edge rusher Leonard Floyd's 2020 fifth-year option, general manager Ryan Pace recently told reporters, including Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times.

6. The Bears had one bad game on special teams against the Patriots.

7. The Bears are going to evaluate all of their players, but I figure Long will be in good shape when it comes to the roster.

8. The Bears had 23 kickoff returns in 16 regular-season games.

9. The Bears were his first NFL team after 11 years of college coaching experience.

10. At the minimum, Pace said the Bears will have a kicker competition in 2019, if not an outright change.

11. The Bears imposed their will on a Vikings team that didn't have many answers.

12. The Bears were eliminated and Parkey became enemy No 1 in the greater Chicago area.

13. The Bears are happy with the work of defensive line coach Jay Rodgers, who helped develop former second-round pick Eddie Goldman and has overseen the ascent of defensive end Akiem Hicks.

14. The Bears are no doubt closer to pursuing a Super Bowl championship than the Broncos but Donatell was passed over for the coordinator position.

15. Chicago Bears found a replacement for Vic Fangio, hiring Chuck Pagano.

16. The Bears have 10 of their 11 starters under contract for next season.

17. The Bears stretched the Vikings' defense our horizontally early on by running sweeps and end-arounds.

18. Chicago Bears clearly made wise decision in retaining Vic Fangio.

19. The Bears added to their lead midway through the second when a sliding Anthony Miller hauled in an 18-yard touchdown from Trubisky.

20. The Bears are then home for two games, against the Rams and Green Bay.

21. The Bears put themselves in the driver's seat for the division title, while the Vikings now face the immediate task of staying ahead of Green Bay.

22. The Bears are doing their best to make this game interesting.

23. The Bears opened as a 3-point favorite over the Lions for Thursday's game at Ford Field.

24. The Bears have allowed 778 rushing yards to 779 for New Orleans.