10-6-23 After Hours with Amy Lawrence PODCAST: Hour 4

Is that the new iPhone 15 Pro?

Oh yeah, it's made with titanium and the Pro camera is epic. Just got it at T-Mobile. Nice. Yeah, and I got their Go 5G Next plan so now I have the freedom to upgrade my phone every year. I gotta get to T-Mobile. Take charge of your upgrades at T-Mobile.com. Phone now via 24 monthly bill credits plus tax for well qualified customers.

Contact us before canceling account to continue bill credits or credit stop and balance on a required finance agreement due. One year upgrade requires financing qualifying device and upgrading in good condition after six months with half paid off. Facts are facts like how contributing to employees financial security makes them want to work harder for their company. In fact, according to a 2023 study by principle, 87% of employers say that better employee financial security means employees are more engaged and productive at work. The fact of the matter is that employees want to feel financially secure in their future. So consider this principle helps you invest in your employees by providing customized benefits and retirement plans to help keep your employees more engaged and productive. When you take care of your team, they take care of business. That's a fact. Learn how principle can help you find the right benefits and retirement plan for your team at principle.com slash benefits products and services offered by member companies of the principal financial group, Des Moines, Iowa.

For important information, visit principle.com slash disclosures. you don't need or that you wouldn't even normally eat, because everything looks good to you when you're hungry, or you end up spending way more money than you typically would. Because you're buying more because your stomach's telling you that you're starving if you don't get all this food off the shelves. Actually, I said that to Jay a little while ago, and he said, Oh, I love shopping when I'm hungry. When someone else is buying the groceries. Oh, that must be nice. Who else buys the groceries?

Jay? It's been a while but I used to have a luxury where I was in like college where sometimes my mom would give me your card and I'd go to like BJ's or Costco or something and get like food for the month. And it was like my favorite.

I would go so hungry and just like stock up on everything. Yeah, I don't have that anymore. It was nice though. It was nice while it lasted. While mom gave me her credit card.

I miss those days. For me, as much as I don't love leaving work and going to the grocery store, I do it because there's hardly anybody there. It's me in about, I don't know, 50 shelf stockers, which is great.

Although sometimes it creates a problem because what I want is still in boxes and not on the shelves. However, I was telling Jay the worst part for me of shopping when I'm hungry because I'm always hungry in the final hour of the show. I don't know why talking burns more calories. Maybe it's the waving of my hands and I'm getting a workout. Jazz hands! And so for that reason, I'm burning calories. I'm waiting for you to start the music, Jay.

I knew you were going to. Yes, it's because I'm bouncing all around and waving jazz hands and because we Italians talk with our hands anyway. Whatever the reason, I burn a ton of calories talking and so I go to the grocery store after work once a week and I'm starving and have to be so careful because my bill could be double. I take up a bunch of stuff I don't need. The worst temptation. Now this is just me.

It might be different for some of you. The worst temptation for me, the baked goods section. The fresh baked bread and donuts that have a decadent aroma. They call to me. It's like I'm force sensitive with the baked goods department. They're calling to me.

So here I am anticipating it. About 90 minutes from now, I will be facing my worst temptation of the weekend. Do you ever cave? And get a donut? Yeah. Only on National Donut Day. Is it National Donut Day?

It definitely might be. Oh, let's figure out what day it is and when National Donut Day exists. What kind do they have? At Walmart?

Yeah. I go to Super Walmart to do my grocery shopping. They have fresh donuts. Sometimes I've seen the Krispy Kreme there, but when is it? When's National Donut Day? Friday, June 7th. Oh, dang it.

We missed it. Can we just add one to the calendar? Who will know?

No one. What day is it? Oh, find out what day it is on the calendar. If it's a food day, then I'll imbibe.

Well, that's beverage. I'll partake. Let's see what National Day is today. There's probably seven different National Days designations. National Day calendar. Who put this together by the way is always my question.

Who wrote this? Is there some organization out there that just designated itself National Day calendar? Right. I can really just declare anything on any day. Sure. And this website isn't even good. I can't even get any answers here. I thought that I should have confidence in your Googling skills, but apparently not. Alright, moving on. The whole point was, no, the moment has passed, Jay.

It's passed. Oh, I got it actually. Oh, great. It's a good one though.

After the moment has passed. It's a food one. Fine. Yes. National Noodle Day. Like ramen noodles? Exactly. Ew.

No. Did you see there's a huge spike in instant noodles coming up? I saw that in our elevator. Apparently there's two new companies are coming to the United States and building these massive plants because there's a shortage of instant noodles and they need more. Is that because we're all going back to the days when we were in college and that was the cheap way to survive?

Very possible. Yeah, the number of cups of ramen noodles that I consumed as a college student, that and just pasta with ragu sauce. I wouldn't eat ragu, oh, sorry. I wouldn't eat that type of cheaper pasta sauce now because it's all sugar. It's so sweet compared to actual authentic Italian pasta sauce. Like the jar I gave you for your birthday, oh, I don't know, two years ago that's still sitting in your closet like a paperweight? Where is my jar of pasta sauce?

It looks good. I'm out of pasta sauce and I can't even buy it at my store anymore. Can I have my jar back? They discontinued it? Yeah, they stopped selling it at my grocery store. Can I have my jar back?

I don't know. That means I might have a commodity now. I hate you. You know that. If they didn't buy it anymore, then I got goods. No, I'm not giving you TSA pre-check for Christmas like we've discussed until I get my jar of pasta sauce back. You know that when I gave you my favorite jar of pasta sauce, it was not to be used as a decoration on a shelf in your closet, right?

Did I not clarify that? I guess I missed that memo. I thought you were Italian. I am. I think. Something's wrong with this picture.

I'll try it. I have to. Yeah, you've been saying that for two years. It'll happen. When you're 51 and we're not speaking anymore.

It has not been used in 20 years. I'm absolutely done with you. Done.

That's fair. All right. I'm going to have someone steal it. Let me recruit your mom to steal it out of your bedroom. I don't know if she'll step foot in my room anymore. Oh, no. I don't want to know.

I do not want to know. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. When your new owner is tweeting about how you played with no intensity or fire, you better watch out. But before you knew it, the commanders on their own field in front of their new ownership were already in a 17-0 hole.

Jeff, these are back. Corners tight. Snap back to fields. Fields looking. Now throwing.

Got open man. D.J. Moore. End zone. Touchdown.

Touchdown Bears. Which team came out as the more aggressive? Which team came out more desperate for a win? Which team came out fired up and Magic Johnson making that point?

The commanders did not. They were the opposite. And so Moore's working on a career night. Justin Fields firing away, which seemed eerily similar to the way that the Bears and Fields started out against the Broncos last week in Chicago.

On this night, this Thursday night, this quick turnaround that kicked off week number five, they were determined not to fall into that same trap. Moore hauls in his second touchdown early in the second quarter and it's a 17-0 deficit. I can't even imagine what the halftime locker room was like for the commanders. Now it would have been bad enough if they'd gone into halftime trailing 20-3 because that was a deficit with about two and a half minutes to go in the first half. That would have been bad enough. They would have got an ass chewing, a boring ass chewing. Sorry, if you missed it earlier, you'll just have to get the podcast.

I'm an idiot. That would have resulted in a bit of an ass chewing anyway, and Ron Rivera would have had plenty of spicy words to use, but it got worse. Here's the snap, howl, stands in the pocket, goes into the middle, breaking on the ball and intercepting it, breaks through him in with the swipe, right over the middle, a clouded pocket. He was throwing the ball over the middle to Curtis Samuel and the Bears are going to get more opportunities to put points on the board right here, right now in Washington. The goal for Chicago in the red zone for the fifth time tonight, eight trips in the first four games.

Herbert to the backfield, field, pump and throw, touchdown, Cole Kemet. A little hot sauce on that one from Fields and the Bears are pouring it on in this first half. Oh yeah, before you could even get to halftime, Ron Rivera's commanders saw the deficit grow because Greg Stroman intercepts Sam Howell, the call there with Jeff Joniak and then Ian Eagle with the touchdown that is immediately on the heels. It's after hours with Amy Lawrence, CBS Sports Radio, felt like every time the commanders threatened to make inroads, and they did. And I have no doubt that at least initially in the third quarter, so coming out of halftime locker room after the ass chewing with a more motivated commanders team, that because they started out with a quick touchdown and then had a couple of other scores in that third quarter, the Bears were maybe feeling some deja vu or at the very least a little anxiety over the fact that this felt very similar to the week before in Denver where they coughed up a 21 point lead and lost on their own field.

Except the commanders took care of the Bears business for them. Alright, so they would grab some momentum and then a fumble by Logan Thomas. They scored again and then another moment that I guess could qualify as a turning point that really snuffed out any hopes they had. Very makeable field goal, 46 yards away for Joey Sly. Just wrong. Try to make this a one score game.

Sly sprays it off to the right and it's no good. Washington comes up empty with 5'11 on the clock. I can't believe that. An enormous miss. And there was already a few people leaving for the exits.

Now after that miss, a lot of them are leaving for the exits. That is a brutal miss by Joey Sly. Ross Tucker. We need to get Ross on the show. It's been a while. Yeah, we have to invite him back. I don't think we've had him since last season.

He likes to do the early morning as well because he gets up and does the workouts and yada yada. Anyway, about five minutes to go and that was yet another mistake, another missed opportunity by the commanders. Not only were the fans departing in droves but they had spent their time booing before that.

Just a mess for the commanders. They've dropped three in a row. But that's nothing compared to what the Bears and their fans just endured.

Nearly a calendar year in the making. 14 consecutive losses going back to October of last year. But that streak, their long national nightmare is finally over. And they played inspired. I really do appreciate that they came out with a lot of energy.

A lot of just a different mentality but a lot of juice. Right? On a quick turnaround on a Thursday night. It can be tough. You kind of feel like you're tired.

Maybe you still feel like you got hit by a truck. You haven't yet recovered from Sunday. And maybe that was part of what was going on with the commanders. They played into overtime against the Eagles. It was a division win. I'm not a big believer in trap games but maybe this was a trap game. Plus a short work week for the commanders on their own field thinking, alright.

And they end up with a letdown. But the Bears couldn't afford that. And so they get their first win which means only the Panthers are still standing as a team that has not yet won. We did this question about six weeks ago.

So a couple weeks before the season started. Which team will be the last to get a win in the NFL this year? And I would say the majority of you, it wasn't a vast majority, but the majority of you went with Arizona. Not a bad choice. Bunch of other ones for Denver.

Trying to think who else I saw. I saw Patriots in there. But ultimately a Colts in there as well. Ultimately though it turns out to be the Panthers who are the last team that has yet to secure a win.

It's after hours on CBS Sports Radio. 14 game skid now in the history books and in large part due to DJ Moore and the connection with Justin Fields which has been developing relatively quickly. But a career night for him. 8 catches, 230 yards and 3 touchdowns. Obviously DJ Moore is going to be a big story. You saw his skill and talent level out there today.

And just an amazing player. And Justin did a really good job of feeding him today. I thought that was really nice. This morning I was nervous. Out of this world nervous. So I guess that was my body telling me that we were about to go off. So I look forward to having some more nervous days before games. I'm pretty nervous before every game but not like tonight. I guess because it was like a primetime game you never want to mess up on big time TV.

So I mean that was the whole thing behind it. Yeah you didn't mess up on big time TV but my big time TV messed up. I kept getting the buffer.

I know people complained about this last year with Amazon Prime for whatever reason. I don't know if it was because it was on my TV as opposed to my laptop. Maybe that would have been a little better. But yeah the second half was bad. I'd see a play and then it would buffer.

And then I'd see a play and then it would buffer. It was disconcerting. I did not enjoy it. And thankfully had to get ready for work and get in the car anyway. So I listened to Westwood One with Ian and Ross for a while. Happy for the Bears. You can imagine it was a huge relief. Justin Fields said the same thing when DJ hold in that final touchdown.

And for him it's the second week in a row in which he's had four touchdown passes. So they really needed to close this one out. It felt good. It's a feeling that we all had after the game.

It's a feeling that you just never wanted to end. So just proud of the way all the guys came out and played tonight. O-line did their thing versus the dominant D-line. They showed out. Really just everybody. Running backs did their thing. Receivers of course did their thing too.

So just proud of everybody. We want to get to our break but coming up at the back half of the hour. So following the update we'll check in with our friend David Hoff from AM 670 The Score in Chicago getting set for his morning show. He's agreed to join us before he does his own local show.

We'll get his reaction to the Bears doubling up the commanders. But here's something that jumped out at me. The chunk plays. You saw them. We saw them with DJ Moore.

But I didn't realize this until I read it after the fact. Four longest plays of the season for the Bears in this game. 58 yards. 39 yards. 56 yards.

All of those with DJ. And then a 34 yard run by Khalil Herbert. Three of them were in the first quarter.

The commanders were obviously not ready to go. Not ready for what they saw with the Bears. Some of it is just missed opportunities. Sometimes it's not about going after the ball as much as it's securing the tackle. I mean these are all things that we're going to look at and talk about.

We've got a little time to do that now. Ron Rivera a little off mic there but talking about the explosive plays on defense. Just mistakes or let downs. And they can't happen because in the NFL a team will burn you even if it's a crappy team. Terry McLaurin he was pretty fired up following the game and expressed his displeasure with how they're playing and how disappointing it is.

And someone asked him whether or not he was shocked about the fact that the Bears were the team that just beat them so soundly. When you don't get off to a fast start and the team that's hungry like that fighting for every play, every yard and they're capitalizing. That's what could happen.

Record didn't really matter. I believe that coming into the weekend. You don't come to play. That's what's going to happen to you. That's as bad as it gets honestly. The last two times we've been at home it hasn't been good.

A lot of people, myself included, we all got to get better. Scary Terry. Speaking his mind. A little bit like Devante Adams did after the Raiders last loss.

Remember? Here's what I'm thinking though. With the new ownership, everything's up for evaluation. They weren't going to make a coaching change right before training camp or preseason. They couldn't change the roster.

It's too late for that. But you can imagine everything is under a microscope and everything's being scrutinized by an ownership group that wants to win. Josh Harris, Sixers, Devils, Magic Johnson. He's used to winning at pretty much everything he does.

Not just from his days in the NBA as a Hall of Famer, but from his days as a businessman. He's not going to stand for that either. So I'm sure they're feeling it. Or if they aren't, they will soon.

There's a lot of pressure there on these commanders. All right. On Twitter, ALawRadio, After Hours, CBS. You can take our poll for After Hours, Game O of the Week. It's another London is falling weekend.

And then on our Facebook page too, our YouTube channel, lots of you finding us there as well with some of our latest videos. Coming up, we're going to do a quick, we're going to go quick, a bit of a week five preview. We did defense first last hour and we'll get some QBs to spew. No, they don't spew. Only Aaron Rodgers spews.

They'll speak their mind though. And then we'll talk Bears with David Hall on the back. Greetings, podcast listeners. This is world renowned, self-proclaimed couples therapist, Dr. Sheila. And I'd like to invite all of you to experience my couples therapy podcast. Say more on the pod. I talk to couples and you get to listen in on other people's problems and then feel better about your own. Say more with Dr. Sheila features Amy Poehler as Dr. Sheila.

Listen and follow to say more with Dr. Sheila on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcast. I was crossing the street when I met the love of my life. I chased after her.

Nothing would stand in my way, not the dog walker nor the hot dog vendor. Finally reaching her, I asked, what do you call that amazing smell? It's game flings. Game flings. My love had a name, but more importantly, it had a scent. Fall in love with game flings. Seriously good scent.

Try game flings today with special savings at family dollar. He's got it! Touchdown! Joe Burrow and the Bengals! The holmes fires for the end zone. Touchdown! Kansas City!

No, Herbert keeps it in zone. Touchdown! Chargers! Herbert with his second of the day.

Here's the snap. Gonna keep it himself and run it again inside the five into the end zone. Touchdown Buffalo! Josh Allen, nine yard touchdown run. The Bills respond and then some. It's time for QB News on After Hours.

We got to speed through this. A week five preview through the eyes of the quarterbacks. And Cowboys 49ers, two quarterbacks coming at it from completely different angles. And yet here they clash in what right now is the runaway game of the week. It's After Hours on CBS Sports Radio. Dak Prescott is done answering questions about losing to the Niners in the playoffs last year.

We're so far past that to be honest with you but that's obvious. I mean, you just want to piss me off going into this week and I appreciate that. I do actually. I do. Yeah, appreciate that.

Appreciate that. I mean every day. Every day. Every day time.

Every day. Did he almost drop an f-bomb? I think he did. Kyle Shanahan probably won't swear at the media though. He definitely wants to whenever he's asked about his quarterbacks. He can't stand it. And right now he's ticked off about the fact that people might classify Brock Purdy as a system QB.

I mean that's pretty ridiculous. You just got to watch the tape. He plays at a high level every time he's been out there. He's done it in a lot of different situations versus a lot of different defenses. On the road, at home, in playoff games, when injured.

You can't do all that stuff. He's been out there too long. He's on tape. We've talked a lot about streaks of utility ending this week. The Twins, obviously the Bears last night.

But Brock Purdy, it's the opposite. The Niners have not yet lost in the regular season when he started. The only game they've lost was the NFC Championship when he got hurt. So we'll see if the Cowboys can interrupt that.

That is one choice for Game of the Week. So is the Eagles at the Rams in week number five. And Jalen Hurts trying not to run as much this year. I just think that it hasn't been much of an opportunity to do so. You know, I think other than scrambles and kind of some of those busted plays out of the pocket.

Haven't been really many design runs there. The Eagles have not yet. I don't think they've gotten close to playing their best football this year. We've seen flashes, but not the way that they were dominating last season. So maybe this is the week. I believe that they can still run the ball and stop the run.

And that is a tried and true formula. The Miami Dolphins are trying to get back on track after they were sufficiently derailed in Buffalo. So now both the Bills and the Dolphins are three and one. And two is clearly more comfortable with Mike McDaniel. And it's not just on the field. What about the leadership aspect? I definitely have become more vocal. I think when I came into the league during COVID, it was a little hard for me to find myself leading the way I wanted to lead because of the hierarchy with with how I was told I should have led. It just wasn't the way I felt comfortable with. And so I didn't lead that in that sense. I continued to lead the way I felt was necessary in being the true character to myself. And so, you know, being having Mike and the new coaching staff come in is definitely helped allow me to be myself.

Brian Flores. I wonder if he got wind of those comments from Tua Tanga Veloa and he didn't directly call out the coaching staff only that they didn't give him the freedom to be himself, which I think we've all had bosses who we kind of felt like weren't allowing us to be who we really were. So it's interesting comments. You can tell that McDaniel and Tua have a great relationship already. Remember Mike was on the plane on his way to Miami and he was face timing Tua telling him it was the best day of his life. Maybe he was right. Credence to that. Maybe he was prophetic.

Oh, let's see. Mac Jones in the AFC East got benched last week in that abysmal performance versus Dallas. Worst loss of Bill Belichick's career.

But he will be starting this week. Confidence is something that comes from years of practice and it grows over time. And I think that's what I have to look back on is not played well at times and I just got to be more consistent.

So I know it's there. Like I said, just focus on my job play by play. Take the emotion out of it and go out there and try and distribute the ball to the right people. He's a tough guy.

He's a tough, tough guy. And, you know, we all got to be better. I think we're all looking ourselves in the mirror this past weekend. And, you know, it's not just one individual, but we all need to be better.

So I think I tried to address that as much as I could to be better for this team. And I know every man in that room was, you know, doing the same. It's really interesting the coaches that are already on the spot or, I'm sorry, on the hot seat and under massive scrutiny to start this year. Bill Belichick, definitely one of them. Mike Tomlin, one of them, two of the longest tenured coaches in football. We've talked about Ron Rivera a little bit.

Matt Eberfluse, he was feeling it in Chicago. Yeah, it is. It's a precarious position as an NFL head coach, no matter what you've done in the past.

I don't have time for that. John Harbaugh is another one of those long tenured coaches. And his Baltimore Ravens, despite having a revolving door of starters out because of injuries, they are on top of the AFC North. Ravens at Steelers.

This is my vote for after-hours game of the week. And Lamar, with two touchdowns to Mark Andrews last week, could that be a weapon versus Pittsburgh? I love when Mark is locked in and he gets on other guys, you know. I just stay locked in, even myself included, you know. Not him getting on me staying locked in because I'm locked in, but just him getting on other guys, just keeping them focused, you know, because it's end of game and play. You know, we're trying to score on our offense. We're just trying to draw the ball down the field and put points on the board. So us staying focused, it helps us out a lot. Are you expecting an ugly game between Ravens-Steelers? If you get gritty, and no, not that gritty, the other gritty, Kenny Pickett doesn't care.

All he's looking for is the dub. We can get in the growth and the progress though. Right now we're 2-2. We're trying to get our third win here. That's what I'm focused on.

Alright, short and sweet. Anthony Richardson as the Colts QB could have Jonathan Taylor in his backfield in week number five. He is practicing again. I know he's a great player. I know I can do some things pretty well.

So just trying to combine those two things. I can only imagine what it's like, but we won't see until it actually happens. So we'll see and I'm excited. At this point, I have no idea whether or not he'll be out there on the field. But he is practicing and the team has three weeks to make him active or not. Hey, is Zach Wilson the flavor of the week?

I don't know. The Jets could put together a win. They could come up with a win in Denver. That whole Nathaniel Hackett thing is dumb. Focus on Zach Wilson.

He sounds mature to me. And he really does want to get off to a fast start in the Mile High City. We need to come out fast. They're easing into what we're doing on offense.

So we need to be able to come out right from the beginning. Screw the third downs. Let's get some first downs on first downs.

Let's start fast and get some big plays from the beginning. Doesn't he sound liberated? He sounds free now.

All of a sudden he's not the butt of everyone's jokes and he sounds large and in charge. I'm rooting for Zach Wilson. I'm telling you, everyone's on the Zach Wilson bandwagon now. Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills in London. What is Josh's... What is his assessment of the other Josh Allen?

The one who had, what was it, three sacks last week for the Jags? Scares me. Nice. Josh, meet Josh. And finally, Josh, to get us ready for this early morning battle across the pond, what's your favorite phrase from Great Britain? Mind the gap. That's Jay's favorite. Mind the gap.

Now it could be a football phrase, but it's actually referring to the tube. Mind the gap. Mind the gap.

Jay, you've heard it over and over again. Mind the gap. Mind the gap. It sticks in your craw. It sticks in your brain.

If you go to London, you can't leave the city or if you take the underground without saying that. It just happens. Mind the gap.

I've been to Ireland, Scotland, Isle of Man, not to England. At some point I'll get there, so I have not experienced mind the gap. Mind the gap. But Josh Allen is teaching us a brand new phrase. All right, coming up, we're going to head to the Windy City. Chicago ends what was the NFL's longest active losing skid. Fourteen games bites the dust. What a performance for the defense in honor of Dick Butkus, who passed away on Thursday evening.

You are listening to the After Hours Podcast. The offense operated good at the end. To close out games, you're going to have to make plays to finish the game, and that's the big thing we needed. We built some momentum last week. This is a whole new group that we have, a lot of rookies.

We've got a lot of free agents that are coming together. We felt that momentum building last week, and we just needed to finish better. The guys pulled together last week and did a nice job of finishing this game.

This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. Matt Eberflus, on the fact that they actually were able to close out the commanders and their 14-game losing skid, unlike what happened against Denver in Week 4. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence, CBS Sports Radio, Jeff Jodiak, with the call of D.J. Moore's third touchdown, a career night for him. Justin Fields, another four touchdowns, an inspired defensive performance. Can the Bears do this every week? We're pleased to welcome David Haugh, who's the co-host of Mully and Haugh, on our Chicago affiliate AM 670. The score starts relatively soon.

They'll have D.J. Moore on their show this morning. But before we get to football, David, I noticed that you released a podcast late last night, reacting to the game. So how much sleep did you get? Not much, Amy.

Good morning. It's a short night in Chicago, but look, after the beginning of the season for the Bears, where all the days have been long, I think we all will take it in town when we change the subject. And today, we're not talking about a firing, we're not talking about dysfunction, we're not talking about where's Chase Claypool.

Finally, for the first time in 346 days, we're talking about a Bears victory. Did you think it was possible that, I don't know, come post-Week 5, we could be talking about a firing? I think that it seemed far-fetched to me, or at least a little bit premature, although you know this business, you can't rule out any possibility in the NFL. So when some really respected, plugged-in national reporters, guys of the ilk of Peter King, give it voice about the possibility, you have to pay attention to it. So you do your due diligence and you wonder what will happen next. I was born the new team president from the Bears.

We haven't really heard from him through this KI in the first month. So you were ready. I mean, we were prepared, and I think the city was braced for a change in the fan base. It was very frustrated and fed up, but last night, at least there was a reprieve because the sense of relief after that one, it's palpable. Yeah, the Bears said that inside the locker room, that they felt the same way.

You're celebrating, but you're also so relieved that it's over. So David, what signs did you see that the Bears might have actually turned a corner? I think offensively you're seeing a little bit more command from Justin Fields. He had the big turns against the Broncos that were only probably compromised or taken into consideration because he had too late turnover. So you saw growth against the Broncos. The confidence continued on Thursday night in Washington, D.C., because Luke Getze, the play caller, continued to move the pocket, continued to do things that played to Justin Fields' strength. So it all starts with number one, and when he starts to get into a rhythm and the connection with D.J. Moore and that chemistry is real, then I think those are the things that you cling to. I really didn't expect them to play as well defensively last night as they did with the takeaways because they're compromised in the secondary.

So I think that it's two things. One, the passing game and Justin Fields got going. And secondly, they had some people step up on defense that you just could not have expected. David Hawes with us from AM 670 The Score.

They'll have D.J. Moore on their morning show coming up just over three hours from now. It's after hours here on CBS Sports Radio. David, a couple of weeks ago we were reacting here to what Justin had said about it was coaching, that he felt like limited him and didn't allow him to be as free or as instinctive as he wanted to be on the field. Have you seen that change in the last couple weeks? Yes. That seems like it was about three or four controversies ago, but yes. I think when you see what Luke Getze did in response to that, and maybe it was just coincidental, I don't think so, but they began moving the pocket and taking advantage of his mobility because what Justin Fields was screaming for in that cry for help was, Let me play less robotic.

Let me take advantage of this skill set. That is unique. And you've seen it a hundred times with quarterbacks. You move the pocket, all of a sudden they are reacting more and thinking less. He's not a true pocket passer, but what happens is he needs to build confidence, so moving the pocket and doing the things against the Broncos allowed him to have 335 yards in the air. And then last night I think the wrinkle that Luke Getze included was there were probably seven to nine designed runs, and that takes advantage of his ability to be the Bears' best running back. And I think when you combine both of those things, he does play freer, he's got a little bit more of a swagger, and when Justin Fields has confidence, he's a dangerous quarterback.

What happened with Chase Claypool, David? I think Chase Claypool squandered an opportunity in Chicago to take advantage of a situation that really, when he came here, the Bears gave up a lot to get him, essentially a defacto first-round draft pick. And all the while, people wondered, if Mike Tomlin is giving up on this player, what's wrong with him?

And he had a chance to prove people wrong, and they gave him every opportunity. What he did was he just wasn't mature enough to handle the challenge. And so he would be, again, reportedly not a great teammate in terms of meeting time, being on time, and then he wasn't a willing blocker.

All the little things that contribute to being a good teammate and all the little things that kind of spell out what it takes to be a professional, Chase Claypool was very poor at those things. And then when he said something publicly about his usage, the Bears basically said enough was enough, and I'd be very surprised if he ever stepped foot in that locker room again. Well, we heard Ryan say that he wishes him well moving forward, so it did sound like it was a goodbye of sorts. He wasn't wishing him well to go have dinner or get the mail or whatever. Yeah, he's wishing him well in his next stop, so I agree with you.

I think his days are done in Chicago. Well, and D.J. Moore, with a breakout game, that clearly makes him the number one receiver, and that connection between he and Justin Fields could go a long way. So, David, let's talk about the defensive side of the ball. They did not have much of a pass rush that showed up at all before last night where they have five sacks of Sam Howell.

They have the takeaways, as you mentioned. They find out just before the game about the passing of Dick Butkus. What did he mean to the Chicago Bears? Well, I think when you talk about Dick Butkus, it's not just the Chicago Bears, but especially the Chicago Bears. What he meant to the National Football League, I mean, he was the epitome of toughness. He was the ultimate monster of the midway, the guy by whom the others were measured at that position. And it's an epic position in Chicago from Butkus to Big Singletary, to Brian Urlacher.

We're talking about Hall of Fame caliber players here. Dick Butkus was the one who defined toughness, and he changed the game and he changed the position. So it was a very emotional night for people associated with the Bears because hours before kickoff, the news broke and the team confirmed it, and then they went out and they played in a way that would have made them proud because they brought the passion, they displayed the urgency, and they played the kind of desperation that he took to the field each and every time. So it's very difficult to kind of summarize just what he meant to the Bears organization, but the easiest way to say it is he meant everything because he was the type of player that everybody who steps foot in Hall wants to be.

Just about 30 seconds or so, David. Is there anyone on the defense for the Chicago Bears that can carry on that tradition or at least has potential? Well, I think Jermaine Edmonds is the most logical answer in terms of just being a guy who plays the position, has the athleticism, and has the leadership qualities. Jaquan Brisker in secondary.

These are the guys that do have traits, but there's only one Dick Butkus, and the Bears don't have any future Hall of Famers on their defense. The last night was a good night. They stepped forward and they played in a way that they did more with less, and I think that they changed the subject, and that's welcome in town. Yeah, it's got to be a relief for radio hosts, too, to be talking about a win and not a loss for the first time in a year. So you can find David on Twitter at DavidHaugh for AM 670 The Score.

They'll have D.J. Moore on their show this morning. Mullin Ha. Good to catch up with you. You're welcome anytime. Thanks so much. Thanks, Amy.

Have a great day. The Bears losing skid bites the dust, and I do believe the inspired performance on defense is one that Dick Butkus would be proud of. But, yeah, they need that toughness. It's interesting that he mentioned some of the other Bears who'd kind of carried on that tradition, and it used to be such a formidable position for the Bears. I mean, remember when Khalil Mack was a part of that Bears defense and this was one of the best units in all of football? There were people that a couple years ago even dared to compare that Bears defense to the one from 1985 that won the Super Bowl. So the Bears are missing pieces. Maybe there's more of a personality now. They've gotten that losing skid in the rearview mirror, and can they develop an identity?

Can they have a leader in Justin Fields who kind of takes that mantle and makes the Bears his own, and not just because he's their quarterback, but because he believes in what they're doing and wants to be a part of it? Love our friends at AM 670 The Score. Good to connect with David. On Twitter, ALawRadio, love for you to vote in the after-hours game of the week poll because it's not just about the Cowboys and Niners. Come on, are you guys so...

It's just so trendy. Taylor Swift is not going to be there. I'm sure the ratings are going to drop.

Actually, this will be one of the highest-rated TV shows of the year. No doubt. So we'll talk with you Sunday night. Enjoy your weekend. Don't be a couch potato the whole time. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence, CBS Sports Radio. Boom! Mind the Gap.