Commentary: It's not all the Bad News Bears |
For any Bears fan, it is safe to say that this season is not going well. After a 4-2 start, the Bears had to feel great coming out of their BYE week. However, what has transpired since then has been anything but good.
The Bears now stand at 4-8, which, if you can do the math, means they have dropped six consecutive contests. But it’s not just the fact that the Bears are losing; it’s the gut-wrenching fashion in which they lose each week that is driving Bears fans through a wall rather than up it. Except for the loss at Arizona, which was simply 60 minutes of getting out-played — the other five have been knives to the gut, week after week. Let’s start in Washington, where the Bears battled through a sloppy game to take a late lead — only to surrender it on a massive Hail Mary pass. What about failing to muster up more than 3 points against one of the NFL’s worst defenses in New England against the Patriots at home? That was against the soft part of the schedule, not the gauntlet of three straight division games against teams in playoff contention. But somehow, the Bears found themselves with a chance to break a six-year losing streak against Green Bay, only to have a game-winning field goal attempt blocked after refusing to run a few more plays to make the field goal more manageable. The Bears scraped themselves off the canvas and responded the following week against the Vikings with a near-historic comeback. Down 11 points with under 30 seconds to go, the Bears tied the game and got into overtime thanks to an onside kick. However, the defense surrendered 3rd and long after 3rd and long, and the Bears ended up losing by three. That brings us to Thanksgiving in a short week. America was watching, and it expected the mighty Detroit Lions to run all over the Bears. But after trailing 16-0, the Bears roared back with three second-half TD drives and a few defensive stands to give Chicago a chance to tie or win late. Instead, horrific clock management didn’t even allow the Bears to get a long field goal off and instead forced the Bears deeper into the NFL’s laughing stock. But let’s analyze two aspects of this six-game losing streak. Part 1: The Bears coaching staff is to blame. Offensive Coordinator Shane Waldron was fired after the Bears’ 16-3 loss against New England (and the Bears offense has been much better since). After the latest display of coaching malpractice, Matt Eberflus became the first Bears head coach to be fired midseason. But why? Eberflus and co. refused to defend the Commanders' chunk play to get into Hail Mary range and did not use a timeout to make sure the team was on the same page. Against the Packers, the Bears had 40+ seconds and a timeout once they entered field goal range. Instead of running a few more plays to get deeper in GB territory, the Bears settled for a 40+ yarder that was blocked. Against the Vikings, the Bears allowed another kick to be blocked as they refused to change any of their field goal-blocking schemes. In overtime, Eberflus’ defense could not hold the Vikings on multiple thirds and longs. Against the Lions, the Bears play themselves out of field goal range. After a sack, with a running clock, the Bears don’t call a timeout to reset the offense or get a play off in time to get tackled in bounds and call a time out — instead, the Bears have a chaotic heave that did not reach the end zone as time expired and went home with a timeout in their pocket. Part 2: Caleb Williams has looked the part without a doubt. Even amidst struggles, Williams led two (essentially) scoring drives late vs the Commanders to put the Bears ahead. After a fullback fumble at the one-yard line, Williams drove the Bears back down the field to take the lead. Against Green Bay, Williams made heroic efforts on 3rd and 4th down to play the Bears into field goal range. Once again, Williams put the team on his back late to give the Bears a chance at the win with a game-winning kick. Down 24-10 and 27 to 16, Caleb Williams willed the Bears into overtime. 340 yards passing against one of the NFL’s top defenses propelled the Bears to return and force OT. On a short week against the class of the NFL in Detroit, Williams came back from down 16-0 with three second-half TD passes and once again drove the Bears into field goal range, giving them a chance to tie or win. In short, while the Bears lose in heartbreaking ways every week, there is a silver lining. Week by week, the Bears are becoming more sure that they have their quarterback (even through an Offensive Coordinator change and a Head Coach firing). And, week by week, the Bears’ coaching staff exposes its own incompetence, leading to new leadership, which can hopefully propel Williams forward. If the Bears limped into the playoffs somehow, Eberflus would have retained his job and set the Bears back again. Instead, the No. 1 overall pick is looking the part and leading you into winnable games, and the right coach would turn these games into wins. Not to mention, your draft stock rises after every loss. The Bears finally got the quarterback right, and, at the very least, they got the wrong coach out of town.
