The Shawn Mackey Show

  Three weeks into the season, I honestly don't know what to say about the Chicago Bears. For three straight weeks, this team has given me something completely different to talk about. Week one featured an offense that put up 59 points. Week two was a completely different story, with Caleb Williams getting injured and the Bears struggling against Minnesota. Then came Monday Night Football against the Philadelphia Eagles. And somehow, the Bears walked away with a 27–7 victory. I'm still speechless. The biggest story coming out of the game has to be Case Keenum. The Bears' third-string quarterback stepped into a situation that nobody expected him to be in and played an outstanding game. Keenum finished 24-of-34 for 247 yards, threw two touchdown passes, and even ran for a touchdown, becoming the oldest quarterback in Bears history to run for a score. That's the kind of performance that changes the conversation. Before the game, I was questioning why Tyson Bagent wasn'...

  If you love offensive fireworks, beautiful passing and high-scoring NFL games, this was definitely not the game for you. In Season 3, Episode 18 of The Shawn Mackey Show , I break down what I can only describe as a debacle of epic proportions — the Chicago Bears’ ugly 9–3 loss to the Minnesota Vikings at Soldier Field. The weather was miserable. The rain was coming down. The field conditions were awful. But both teams had to deal with the same conditions, so I don't want to use the weather as an excuse. What bothered me most was that the Bears actually led Minnesota in many of the statistical categories. Chicago had 17 first downs to Minnesota’s 11 and moved the ball better in several areas. But none of that mattered because the Bears repeatedly found ways to hurt themselves. The biggest problem was penalties. Chicago committed eight penalties for 58 yards, with seven of those penalties coming in the first half. Drive after drive, the Bears seemed to be putting themselves behind ...

  I’m still trying to process what I watched. The Chicago Bears put up 59 points against the Carolina Panthers , and for a good portion of the game, I was honestly speechless. This game started with some of the same frustrations we’ve seen before — penalties, missed opportunities and questionable defensive plays — but eventually the Bears’ offense completely took over. Carolina scored first, going up 7–0, but something in the back of my mind told me not to panic. I thought maybe that would be the only touchdown Carolina scored all afternoon. I was obviously wrong about that part, but I wasn't wrong about the Bears being able to win this game. The Bears answered with a touchdown, and before long they had built a 21–7 lead. One of the plays that really stood out to me was Rome Odunze making a tremendous catch over the defender and staying in bounds to set up the Bears. Caleb Williams also continued to show that he can hurt defenses with his legs, scoring a couple of rushing touchdown...

  After a little hiatus, I’m back with Season 3, Episode 16 of The Shawn Mackey Show — and I’m coming back with a new studio, a slightly less chaotic background, the old whiteboard, and plenty of opinions. The studio may look a little different, but the show is still me. That’s what I want people to understand about this podcast. I’m not trying to be somebody else. I’m bringing the same sports opinions, stories, rants and nonsense that got this whole thing started. I grew up in Chicago, and sports have always been a huge part of my life. I grew up listening to Chicago sports radio and guys like Mike North, and I always loved the idea that somebody could take their personality, their opinions and their life experiences and turn them into a show. That’s part of why I started this podcast in the first place. It originally had the name Chronicles of a Dumbass , because I wanted to tell stories about the dumb things I did growing up. Eventually, my family got tired of hearing me compla...