With a little more than 6 minutes to play in the third quarter , Chicago Bears running back D’Onta Foreman treated the “Thursday Night Football” audience to a rare entertainment surge. Down inside the Carolina Panthers 5-yard line, Foreman knew he had a shotgun handoff coming and sensed with how the defense was aligned the middle would likely be clogged.

Thus, when Foreman took the football from rookie quarterback Tyson Bagent, he quickly planted and cut. “I just bounced it back (right),” he said.

Foreman instantly saw Panthers linebacker Frankie Luvu coming over the top and accelerated.

“I knew it was going to be a bang-bang kind of run. It was just kind of mano a mano. May the best man win.”

Foreman did, bouncing off Luvu’s tackle attempt at the 2, spinning back inside and powering backward through safety Vonn Bell at the goal line.

In the Bears’ extraordinarily grindy 16-13 win at Soldier Field, that was the game’s only offensive touchdown. Fittingly, it punctuated an eight-play, 39-yard drive in which the Bears took full advantage of terrific field position and did just enough to surge ahead 16-10.

“I thought (that drive) was solid,” Bagent said. “Good play-calling, a good mix of things (with us) getting out on the edge, running the ball effectively and taking completions. … It was good to at least capitalize on one of those when it was direly needed.”

That was one of the most notable offensive sequences during a night in which the Bears and Panthers combined for 508 yards on 127 plays. It was, at times, a painful watch for the prime-time audience.

The Bears’ longest gain covered 16 yards — on the game’s first snap, a quick Bagent throw to DJ Moore, who found space and then did his thing, albeit with a little bit of admitted astonishment.

“I was shocked,” Moore said of that first catch. “Because that’s not what we had gone over. When it happened, I was like, ‘Oh, we’re going to start this party early.’ So I was happy.”

Asked for his take on Moore’s reaction, Bagent looked perplexed himself.

“I don’t know why he would be surprised,” Bagent said. “He is the best player on the field. So we try to get the guy the ball.”

Whatever. It was just that kind of night. And so be it, right?

Truth be told, the Bears didn’t so much win Thursday’s game as much as they outlasted one of the worst teams in the league.

In the absence of crowd-pleasing highlights, they at least eliminated turnovers from their routine and, by and large, avoided backbreaking mistakes.

The victory wasn’t really secure until former Bear kicker Eddy Piñeiro came up well short and wide left on a desperation game-tying 59-yard field goal attempt with 1:35 remaining. (Somehow, the Panthers needed 14 plays and 5:30 of game time just to set up that long-shot kick.)

A few plays later, Bagent delivered the win-sealing first down with an 8-yard completion to Darnell Mooney on third-and-7 with 1:23 left.

That was a bit of a calculated risk with offensive coordinator Luke Getsy dialing up a passing opportunity in a textbook running situation but reminding his rookie quarterback that it would be OK to take a sack if Mooney was covered.

“It was great communication between me and Luke, understanding what was needed and what we were looking to do,” Bagent said.

It was an even better catch by Mooney, who secured the ball while absorbing a huge hit.

With all the failure the Bears have experienced over the past few seasons, they weren’t about to apologize for Thursday’s victory.

“It wasn’t the prettiest performance,” Moore said. “But we found a way to win. And that’s all that matters in this league.”

Added cornerback Jaylon Johnson: “A win is a win.”

As ugly as Thursday’s game may have been, the Bears still had plenty of encouraging moments.

Foreman’s touchdown, for example, was part of a night in which he fought through a first-half ankle injury to contribute 92 yards from scrimmage.

The Bears defense, meanwhile, made life uncomfortable on Panthers quarterback Bryce Young all night long, sacking him three times, holding him to 185 passing yards on 38 attempts and not allowing a touchdown on nine Carolina possessions. (The Panthers’ lone end zone visit came on an early 79-yard punt return from Ihmir Smith-Marsette.)

Sure, the Bears failed to force a turnover for the fifth time this season. But the Bears limited Carolina to a season-low 213 yards and disguised coverages all night against Young, unnerving the rookie quarterback throughout.

“We did a heck of a job,” Johnson said. “It was just about giving him different looks, playing good coverage on the back end, making him have to hold the ball a little bit and then hoping for the D-line to finish it.”

Bears kicker Cairo Santos also chipped in, making all four of his kicks. Five if you count the 49-yarder he nailed in the first quarter that was negated by a Cody Whitehair penalty. But Santos quickly reset, used that first try as a teaching tool and struck again immediately from 54 yards.

“There was a little right-to-left wind kicking in that direction,” Santos said. “But when I tried the first one, I saw it basically fly straight. So honestly, that cleared my head. Just like, ‘OK, I don’t have to play any wind. Just hit a clean ball and it’ll get there.’ It actually kind of eased my mind. I knew I could get it there. And that first kick kind of gave me the confidence with how to play it.”

Those kinds of contributions add up in games like Thursday’s and the Bears were thrilled to head into a long weekend off with positive energy and a renewed sense of belief.

“We’re going to keep fighting,” safety Eddie Jackson said. “We’re going to keep chopping wood. No matter what happens. No matter the circumstance, everybody on the field is going to rally around each other and find a way to make plays.

“We’re trying to show what we can do when everyone’s on the same page and locked in with an attention to detail. This was just a preview of it.”

Sure, this was a too-close-for-comfort win against a now 1-8 opponent. But it’s all relative, right? And for these Bears, at this stage of their climb, it’s OK to acknowledge they have now won their past two games at Soldier Field, obvious progress after they went 392 days between home victories.

The Bears are also now 3-3 over their last six games, playing a higher quality of defense and trying to get something going. Anything.

“You just grab hold of that momentum,” Jackson said. “Everybody knows how it feels when you win. So we got ourselves a little bit of that momentum. But now it’s time to go on a run.”

The Bears still have seven games left and two months of a season to try and salvage. They will need triumphs far more convincing than Thursday’s to establish any sort of meaningful direction. But a loss Thursday night would have been absolutely dreadful. Sidestepping that counts for a little something. And those good vibes the Bears will carry into Week 11 matter, too.

“For us in this locker room, we just really need this,” Foreman said. “Just trying to get these guys rallied back up. I really think if we stay together and the defense keeps playing lights out like they have been, we can get a bunch more wins.”

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U.S. Rep. Angie Craig has been pushing United States Postal Service officials to improve lackluster performance in the south metro area, but it seems her messages keep getting returned to sender.

Craig, along with the mayors of Farmington and Lakeville, recently asked USPS officials to consolidate their two aging post office locations, and open a larger facility near the border of the two cities. USPS officials have rejected the consolidation proposal, contending that the locations are still meeting “present and future operational needs.”

Craig said she plans to keep pressuring USPS officials to review the need for additional sites, examine hiring procedures to help with staffing levels and be more transparent about the current priorities in delivering packages versus first-class mail.

“I am waving the flag in Minnesota that our service levels are not adequate,” said Craig, a Democrat who represents the 2nd Congressional District, a wide swath south of the Twin Cities including the cities of Lakeville, Eagan, Cottage Grove and Northfield.

Mail service has been an issue in this fast-growing area of the south metro, where new housing developments cover acreage that once belonged to rolling farmland. The same post office that served Lakeville’s 25,000 residents in 1990 is expected to meet the needs of 74,500 people today.

The consolidation proposal was just the latest salvo in a months-long skirmish between Craig and USPS officials about poor mail service. In August 2022, issues with the New Prague, Minn., office garnered her attention, with tours to the Prior Lake, Eagan and Lakeville post offices not far behind.

This week Craig pressed Postmaster General Louis DeJoy to release his plan for handling mail during the peak holiday shipping season.

“I have been incredibly disappointed that USPS has refused to even consider this proposal. I’m going to keep pushing on this one,” Craig said.

Why consolidate?

In August, DeJoy announced national plans to open more regional mail centers and renovate local processing, sorting and delivery centers.

In September, Craig wrote to DeJoy, suggesting the plan to consolidate the currently leased Farmington and Lakeville offices for a new, larger location near the border between the two towns. It was supported by Lakeville Mayor Luke Hellier and Farmington Mayor Joshua Hoyt. She also delivered constituent complaints to DeJoy’s office.

With staffing issues, consolidating two centers into one larger area with increased room for larger mail sorting equipment makes perfect sense, Craig said.

In addition to a new location, Craig said the process of background checks for new hires has stretched into several weeks, making it hard to shore up staffing levels, and that a priority to deliver packages over first-class mail has contributed to delays in service.

As Lakeville has changed greatly in the last few decades, Hellier said, the location of the Post Office has not. Hellier and Craig toured the downtown Lakeville post office last January, finding that USPS employees were working in an outdated, undersized environment, and that the local office was operating at a workforce deficit, he said.

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“They are working in very tough conditions,” Hellier said. “The facility is outdated, plain and simple.”

During that tour, Craig said they saw pallets of undelivered packages sitting outside, covered in snow, making it clear that needs have outgrown space.

Meanwhile, on a tour of Eagan’s post office in July, Craig said she wasn’t able to see a truthful picture. She later received reports that post office administrators sent workers from other areas to shore up coverage and divert pallets of mail out of sight, and informed local workers not to speak to the congresswoman.

“It’s not helpful if you’re not actually going to be transparent when I visit,” Craig said. “There’s been a little bit of back and forth in that way, and it’s disturbing.”

Low performing

Customers line up for service in the lobby of the United States Postal Service office in Lakeville on Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2023. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

The Minnesota-North Dakota region routinely ranks among the 10 worst performing areas in terms of delivered first-class mail in the three-to-five day standard, according to USPS service performance figures. The region is currently last in the country, at just under 81 percent. The national average is 86 percent, with the highest performing regions counting about 92 percent of first class mail delivered in the three-to-five day window.

Last fall, Lakeville and Farmington residents began reporting significant delays in receiving mail. Craig opened a comment line for the matter, and received thousands of complaints.

At the height of the delays last winter, Farmington and Lakeville residents reported regularly going three or four days without mail.

“All of a sudden, I couldn’t figure out why I’m not getting mail,” Lakeville resident Larry Sanders said. “It would seemingly be a week or more, with no mail at all.”

The city of Lakeville got involved in the two weeks before last year’s general election. A city employee went to the post office each day to pick up any absentee ballots, and ensure delivery.

Last January, Lakeville resident Anita Wickhem often counted three days between mail service. She operates a fishing camp on Lake of the Woods in northern Minnesota and regularly receives reservations, invoices and other business related items in her mail here.

She signed up for USPS Informed Delivery, which emails customers photos of what they should be receiving in the mail. With mail days apart, Wickhem had to check exactly what came every day, and what was missing.

Sanders eventually signed up for the same online service.

Unanswered questions

Why is the region’s mail service not measuring up? Have Farmington and Lakeville outgrown their older post office locations? Are the outposts understaffed?

United States Postal Service officials declined to answer specific questions about the Lakeville and Farmington post office locations or general questions about the process of opening a new location.

“We expand service when necessary to meet our customers’ needs and to maintain a quality level of service,” USPS spokesperson Desai Abdul-Razzaaq wrote in an email to the Pioneer Press. “However, community growth in itself is not sufficient cause to establish an independent Post Office. We generally consider establishment of an independent Post Office when present Postal facilities fail to meet the needs of the community.”

In 2020, the USPS closed one Farmington location, essentially moving operations into the other location.

Service still lags, Hoyt said.

The Farmington mayor regularly ships dozens of small parcels for his business, but due to wait times to scan his packages inside the post office, and misplaced outgoing packages, he started using the United Parcel Service for the majority of his needs.

“It hasn’t been just the last six months, it’s been the last three years,” Hoyt said. “It’s frustrating, to say the least. I’ll tell you that.”

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In a shocking twist, the Chicago Cubs are hiring Craig Counsell as their manager.

The Cubs announced Monday they are bringing in the former Milwaukee Brewers manager, whose contract expired at the end of this past season, and moving on from David Ross, who was under contract through next season with a club option for 2025.

Counsell will get a five-year contract worth more than $40 million that would make him the major leagues’ highest-paid manager, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reported. Counsell’s agency, Meister Sports, confirmed that report.

“Today we made the difficult decision to dismiss David Ross as our major-league manager,” Cubs President Jed Hoyer said in a statement. “On behalf of the Cubs organization, we express our deep gratitude for David’s contributions to our club, both on and off the field.

“First as a player and then as a manager, David continually showcased his ability to lead. David’s legacy will be felt in Chicago for generations and his impact to our organization will stack up with the legends that came before him.”

It’s an abrupt ending to Ross’ tenure in Chicago that saw the Cubs go 262-284 (a .480 winning percentage) under his direction the last four years. They were poised to reach the postseason this year for the first time since 2020, Ross’ debut season as manager, before they collapsed during the final three weeks to squander their wild-card position.

Despite the painful ending, Ross received public support from Chairman Tom Ricketts and Hoyer when both were asked whether the former catcher on the 2016 World Series champions would return for the final year of his deal.

“Rossy had a great season and the players play hard for him,” Ricketts said on the final day of the season in Milwaukee. “He’s our guy, so I like him a lot. … He’s a great manager. He creates a great clubhouse culture. The players love playing for him.”

Hoyer echoed Ricketts’ sentiment while acknowledging the expectations going forward.

“He’s not a new manager anymore,” Hoyer said. “He’s going into his fifth season. I think he’s really matured in the job and developed. Like all of us, I think he wants to get better every year. … One of his greatest skills is he’s self-critical. He wants to continue to get better. And I know he’s going to spend the winter thinking about how he could have done things differently.

“Do we have disagreements and do we have heated conversations? Of course we do, but you will with any manager. They have to make so many different decisions. You have so many things to weigh, so obviously we work hard all the time to give the right information and if there are things that we disagree with or things that we can do better, he’s very open-minded to that. He’s constantly trying to improve.

“But ultimately we’re very pleased with the job he did this year and I think that he should be proud of the fact that that group kept fighting for him.”

Ricketts and Hoyer commended the job Ross did in leading the Cubs turnaround this past season, going from 10 games under .500 in June to 12 games over .500 in early September, a first in franchise history.

Ross’ strengths centered on managing the player and clubhouse element of the job and he was well-liked by the team, with Hoyer noting during his end-of-season news conference in October that “creating that type of culture is incredibly difficult and he does a fantastic job of that.”

“Fifty to sixty people are down here every single day. All those people at some point in that day want or need his time, his mood, his direction,” Hoyer said. “Everything about the manager, it just defines what happens in the clubhouse.

“And this game is so up and down all the time, to be able to bring a positive, productive energy every single day to stay on message all the time, to be encouraging the players and to keep their respect all the time — there’s not a lot of groups of humans that are more cynical than a group of major-league players, and if they sense any weakness, that any part of you is not genuine at all, you can lose that group of players really quickly.

“No one’s more self-deprecating about their own (playing) career than Rossy, a guy that got carried off the field after his last game and somehow he’s incredibly self-deprecating and talks about knowing how hard the game is, and that’s something that really resonates with the players.”

The Brewers went 707-625 (.531) in Counsell’s nine seasons as their manager and made the playoffs five of the last six years, including three National League Central titles.

His departure for a division rival will add spice to Brewers-Cubs series. The Cubs’ first series in Milwaukee next year is scheduled for May 27-30.

Brewers owner Mark Attanasio told Milwaukee reporters on a Zoom call that when Counsell informed him Monday morning he would be joining the Cubs, he replied, “Are you messing with me?”

“We’re all here today because we lost Craig,” Attanasio said. “But I’ve reflected on this. Craig has lost us and he’s lost our community. It’s a really special place to be.”

This is not the first time in recent years the Cubs have fired a manager in order to hire another. In November 2014, Theo Epstein dismissed Rick Renteria after one season to bring in Joe Maddon on a five-year contract. Maddon managed the club through 2019, including the 2016 World Series title. He was replaced by Ross.

Minor moves were overshadowed Monday amid Counsell’s stunning hiring. The Cubs had two players claimed off waivers — right-hander Jeremiah Estrada by the San Diego Padres and first baseman Jared Young by the St. Louis Cardinals — and they traded left-hander Brendon Little to the Toronto Blue Jays for cash considerations.

Right-hander Nick Burdi cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Iowa, and infielder Luis Vázquez was added to the 40-man roster to prevent him from becoming a minor-league free agent.

The Cubs reportedly extended a qualifying offer to outfielder Cody Bellinger, who is expected to decline it. If Bellinger signs elsewhere this offseason, the Cubs would receive a compensatory draft pick in 2024.

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