ESPN’s Alex Smith on Whether the Bears are the Team to Beat in the NFC

The NFL is a week-to-week league, and Rich made sure to say so before asking Alex Smith a question that would have sounded ridiculous not long ago. Are the Chicago Bears the best team in football now?

Smith, the ESPN analyst, didn't hedge on their status. "They are absolutely contenders," Smith said.

His case started with what Chicago did in Seattle. The Bears went into one of the toughest environments in the league and put up 34 points. Smith reminded Rich that just a week earlier, the Chiefs went to Seattle "and got absolutely punched in the face." Playing there against that defense, he said, "is a monster."

What impressed Smith most was how the Bears did it. "Pretty methodically," he said. Aside from one trick play, "it was just basic methodical football. It was great run game with great play action."

"They are elite on offense," Smith said.

That brought him to the quarterback. Smith believes Caleb Williams "is knocking on the door of kind of elite," the top tier of NFL quarterbacks. "The way he plays in that offense right now, sky's the limit," Smith said. If Williams keeps playing like this, Smith said he "absolutely deserves to be in the conversation" with Patrick, Josh, Lamar and Joe. "He's right there."

Add the move Chicago made to shore up the defense, and Smith's conclusion was simple. "I think that the Bears compete with anybody."

Rich agreed that Jeffery Simmons "checks that box for sure." He also pointed to what the trade meant inside the building. It "electrifies the locker room," Rich said, because management is confirming it believes now is the time too.

Recapping how the Bears handled Seattle, Rich noted they cracked Sam Darnold's ribs from the jump, and the Seahawks' run game disappeared. But next up is Tampa Bay on Sunday night, and Rich said that's "a totally different ball of wax." Seattle doesn't blitz much. The Bucs, in Rich's view, pressure constantly. So what's the challenge for Williams?

Smith started with the Tampa front. "This Bucs defense is incredibly physical," he said. "You got Vita Vea in the middle who kind of sets the tone." It isn't a front that gets pushed around, Smith said, and it's very active and will pressure.

But Smith believes Chicago is built to handle it. "That's the unique thing about the Bears, is they are very complete," he said. "They got a lot of answers on the outside. They have so many contributors in the pass game." It's hard to take away one guy, he added, because "it seems like every week it's someone else that leads them in receiving." He credited the way the roster is built and Ben Johnson's offense.

Still, Smith said the key is the same as it was in Seattle. A lot of what Chicago does starts with the run game up front, and he expects Tampa to be determined to stop it. The play-action passes, the bootlegs and the movement all come off that.

"If you're going to have a chance against this Bears offense," Smith said, "you do need to stop the run first."