Taste Chicago

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ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. – The Chicago Bears had to take full advantage of the soft spot in their schedule to seriously contend for an NFC North title in the second half of the season.

Mission accomplished.

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The Bears (5-3) are true playoff contenders just over the midway point of the season for the first time since 2013 after back-to-back wins over the struggling New York Jets and Buffalo Bills.

Chicago, now in sole possession of first place, enters a critical three-game stretch (over the span of just 12 days) versus NFC North rivals Detroit and Minnesota

The Jets at least made the Bears earn a hard-fought victory.

The Bills game was over by halftime.

Chicago’s defense was so dominant in its 41-9 win against Buffalo that no one missed Khalil Mack, who was inactive for the second straight week because of a right ankle injury.

Mack’s homecoming to Buffalo -- where he starred collegiately -- was a bust, but the Bears' defense more than made up for Mack’s absence.

It wasn’t even a fair fight.

The Bills started Nathan Peterman at quarterback, who after Leonard Floyd’s second-quarter interception return for a touchdown, had thrown just as many career pick-sixes as touchdown passes: three.

But Peterman was hardly the only problem for Buffalo. Bills receivers routinely let their quarterback down by bobbling passes that Bears defenders eagerly jarred loose, usually with disastrous results for Buffalo’s offense.

Up front, the Bears' defense yielded virtually nothing on the ground. Peterman actually led the Bills in rushing yards most of the afternoon, gaining most of those yards on a meaningless scramble at the very end of the first half.

The Bears’ decision to leave promising rookie defensive tackle Bilal Nichols (knee injury) back in Chicago was an unexpected setback, but veteran Akiem Hicks played like a man possessed.

Rookie linebacker Roquan Smith arguably had his best NFL game.

And defensive backs Eddie Jackson (defensive touchdown), Adrian Amos and Kyle Fuller all had takeaways.

The Bears finally gave up their first rushing touchdown of the season. It came in the fourth quarter after an interference penalty in the end zone. It was a sneak by Peterman on third-and-goal from inside the 1.

This is the kind of defense the Bears played at the beginning of the year.

The fact that Chicago is doing it without Mack is encouraging, but they still have five division games left on the schedule. How the Bears fare in those games will determine their season.

The offense -- led by quarterback Mitchell Trubisky -- did enough on Sunday. Trubisky made several clutch throws on third down, which made up for a first-quarter fumble (the Bears recovered) and third-quarter pick. The Bears also got Jordan Howard going with two rushing touchdowns.

But judging by the past two weeks, the Bears' defense, with a healthy Mack presumably back in the mix next week, will be the key to getting Chicago to the postseason.

The waits are long at the Licking, a Miami restaurant chain started by hip-hop artist DJ Khaled that opened its first Chicago location over the weekend. The outpost debuted Saturday in Austin on the city’s West Side. Khaled opened his first restaurant in 2015 in his adopted hometown of Miami, serving “Miami-style” soul food including fried lobster, steaks, and tilapia. For Monday lunch, waits were as long as 45 minutes for a table for four in Chicago.

When Khaled (whose given name is Khaled Mohamed Khaled) opened his first restaurant four years ago, he saw its impact on the community. His crew wants to give underserved African-American communities a quality spot to eat near their homes. For folks living in the Miami Gardens neighborhood, that meant opening a restaurant away from South Beach. Khaled and company have since opened four more locations, including one on South Beach. Khaled had vowed that he wanted to franchise the restaurants and open “as many as possible.” At the same time, he also wanted to be patient and not rush toward expansion.

The Licking is using a similar recipe in Chicago that it used in Miami by bringing a family-friendly option to the West Side. Marketing director Benda World chatted with Power 92 radio about the project.

“I feel it’s needed, Hyde Park has a bunch of offerings, and so does the South Side,” World said. “So we want to bring jobs and create those things for that sector that didn’t have it.”

Besides the fried or grilled lobster — of which a dinner with two sides costs $22.99 — the restaurant serves a red velvet cake that Khaled lovingly called “a problem.” World also suggested customers try the red velvet chicken and waffles. The online menus also include a “famous mystery drink,” four flavors of lemonade, chicken wings, and alfredo pastas.

The Miami restaurant was originally known as Finga Licking, but the name was changed. Mega chain KFC is notoriously protective of its trademarks.

The restaurant was so busy on Monday that a host couldn’t answer questions on the phone. She was too busy seating people and telling them about the long waits.

Chicago has soul food restaurants, as the Tribune is exploring different soul food and other South Side restaurants this month. But the owners behind the Licking feel their restaurant is unlike anything Chicago’s seen before, and they hope to serve locals and attract visitors to the West Side.

The Licking, 5045 W. Madison Street, hours not posted yet.

While his health has betrayed him again and again in recent years, the Bears’ Kyle Long hasn’t let his injuries diminish any of his off-the-field work. So even as Long recovers from a right foot ailment that will keep him out for most of the rest of the Bears’ 2018 season, that stance and modus operandi is likely to continue.

For his efforts and commitment to supporting the US military community, Long was named the Bears’ official nominee for the eighth annual USAA Salute to Service Award on Friday. The USAA and NFL hold a joint distinction in picking a league member that best exemplifies what the award is all about.

All 32 teams have a nominee, and you do not have to be an active player. You can be a coach, front office executive, and even a team legend. Other notable nominees that stand out alongside Long is the Browns’ former stellar left tackle Joe Thomas, 49ers general manager John Lynch, and Packers running back Aaron Jones. Past famous recipients include the Vikings’ Jared Allen in 2014 and Ravens head coach John Harbaugh in 2013.

Finalists for the actual award will be announced in January, and the honor will be bestowed upon at the annual NFL Honors on Saturday February 2nd before the Super Bowl.

An undoubtedly nice boost to Long’s morale as he works to return for the Bears’ stretch run this year.

Robert is the Editor-in-chief of The Blitz Network (subscribe here!), the managing editor of Windy City Gridiron, and writes for a host of other fine publications. You can follow him on Twitter @RobertZeglinski.

Thanks to a couple injury-ish situations with Kris Bryant and Jason Heyward, and thanks to wanting to keep Willson Contreras’s bat in the lineup, the catcher was sent out to play right field, where he’s never started before. Contreras has seen a little time in the outfield, though, and right field in Pittsburgh is on the smaller side, so maybe it wouldn’t be a disaster?

FAR FROM IT. WILLSON SAVED THE GAME WITH A PERFECT THROW:

BOOM! The catcher throws a strike to the catcher to save a run! And it was a bullet:

It’s funny that we were just talking about how little Tyler Chatwood had pitched for the Cubs, about whether it might be an opportune time for the Cubs to shop him as a starter, and whether they could afford to lose the depth. The very next day, the Cubs needed him in an emergency.

And boy did he step up.

With almost no warning that he’d be starting (he apparently didn’t find out for sure until just about four hours before the game), and with no chance to be stretched out or be consistent in his schedule, Chatwood gave the Cubs four innings of one-run ball, allowing four hits and one walk (and one HBP), while striking out five.

The outing dropped Chatwood’s ERA to 4.14 on the season, which is nearly 10% better than league average when adjusting for league and park effects. Quite a bounce-back year from where he was last season. Not a bad guy to have around, right? Not necessarily a guy you want to just dump for a small amount of salary savings?

That said, of course everything is still on the table. If the right opportunity comes up for the Cubs to make a significant addition, and in so doing, they have to make a concurrent move with Chatwood (because his value is actually existent), then I do think they’ll consider it.

But it would have to be a really significant upgrade, because right now, not having Chatwood available for these just-in-case moments is a little scary after the Mike Montgomery trade and Adbert Alzolay injury.