Bears4Ever_34

The Bears rarely ever make it look easy. Without Keenum's boneheaded play late in the game that caused a fumble, that most likely would have turned into a 1 score game with over 7 minutes left in the 4th quarter. The Bears defense, once again forgot how to play football in the 2nd half, and it seems to be a reoccurring theme that they start allowing these big cushions to receivers while they gash the defense for 15-20-25 yard plays on every pass attempt until they are in the redzone. I didn't like what I saw from either side of the ball in the 2nd half, and that definitely dampens the mood after what should have been a complete curb stomping after the way the Redskins played to start the game. Mitch had his best game of the season, which should have been expected against a terrible opponent. He wasn't very sharp all night, even on the throws that he completed I thought his ball placement wasn't very good. His best throw of the day was the last TD to Gabriel. Those are the kinds of plays we need to see more of. He did a tremendous job slithering his way through the pocket and throwing on the run to a guy downfield. I think all of his touchdown throws were outside the pocket, which should tell you something if you're Matt Nagy: He's good at throwing on the run--call more plays like that. The biggest thing this win does is that it buys more time for the offense to figure things out. Next week isn't a must win, but it's pretty close. The NFC North looks like it's shaping up to be the toughest division in football after every team won this week, and the Bears are still sitting in last place, despite being 2-1. They need to keep pace with everyone else, and the easiest way to ensure that is to beat your division opponents. The injuries to Hicks and Piniero could be huge for the game next week, especially with Dalvin Cook and that zone run blocking scheme the Vikings run with now. Hicks is the Bears best defensive run stopper, and not having him out there might be exactly what the Vikings need to continue running as effectively as they have been all year. That concerns me greatly. The Piniero injury also is a major concern, because he can't kick outside of XP range right now, and injuries to your nerves take a long time to heal. I really hope it's not something that lingers far into the season, because the Bears will not be able to survive very long if they have to get inside the 30 for every FG attempt. All in all, they won, and that's a good thing, but there's still a lot they need to improve on in order to take back control of the division. A win next week would be huge, especially going into a game against Oakland (who they should beat).

Eddy has EASILY been the MVP of the team this year, and that's not a good thing. He scored all their points against GB and added another 9 to Mitch's 7. So he's outscored the actual offense 12-7 through 2 games. Yikes... Leonard Floyd has been a beast, as has Roquan Smith. Those two look like budding pro bowlers. You know Mack is going to be there. Allen Robinson has been the only weapon on offense to do anything of consequence so far. Patterson showed off his speed on that one run, and Montgomery looks like a solid RB even though he never has any holes to run through.

Now, for the rest of the team... Defensively, I was not very impressed. I thought they played worse than the score indicated. I was angry all game watching them sit back and play soft coverage when it was so obvious all Denver was going to do all day was the quick passing game to eliminate the pass rush. They gave up way too much space to Denver's receivers, and would have lost the game had it not been for Eddie Money's heroics and the 1 good play Mitch made all day. I noticed the 2pt conversion Denver ran was the exact same play Philly used against the Bears in the playoffs last year. That's the Golden Tate play. I guarantee Fangio influenced that call, knowing the way Kyle Fuller likes to play off his man. They need to figure that play out sooner or later, because it's a copy cat league. Everybody is going to be running that play against the Bears in critical situations. Onto the offense... Pretty brutal day all around again for Mitch and the offensive line. Mitch is getting all the blame, but quite honestly, the Bears offensive line has been just as bad through 2 games. They cannot run the ball and get push up front. Ever since Hiestand took over, they have been ass in the run game. I miss the zone blocking stuff Adam Gase implemented when he was here. The OL was good in pass blocking last year, but this year they have been bad in both categories. It's not possible to be a consistent offense with bad offensive line play, no matter who's at quarterback. That's not an excuse for Mitch, because he's been terrible, but it's just stating a fact. Without improvement up front, the Bears are not going to be able to run the ball, and it's going to force Mitch to complete a lot of 3rd and longs, which is something you absolutely don't want to happen. All in all, 1-1 looks a hell of a lot better than 0-2, so you'll take the win. But you have to be concerned about the ceiling for this team when you see what kind of offense it appears they have now. This is not a championship level offense. It's not even NFL worthy, frankly. They really can't get much worse than this.

Eddie "Money" has a nice ring to it. What a hell of a kick. I have to be honest, I expected him to shank it, but looking at that replay, he may have hit that one from 60. The ball touched the back of the net before it came down! Kudos to him. The Bears may actually have a kicker now. 3/3 for the day, including two 50+ yarders, and obviously one of them as a game winner. It doesn't get much better than that. I also want to give props to Patrick Odonell. Easily his best punting day as a Bear. I think he's mostly sucked for most of his Bears tenure, but he stepped up today while the offense struggled once again. Without the special teams today, the Bears would have lost that game by at least a touchdown.

At some point, Nagy is going to have to realize Trubisky isn't a pocket passer and start playing to his strengths more - which means getting him outside the pocket and having him run around with his legs. A good way of protecting a limited quarterback is to have a strong running game. Give the ball to Montgomery and see if he's capable of being a bell cow back. There's no way Trubisky should be throwing the ball 45 times in a game they score 3 points and never went beyond a 1 possession game.

I wish to live in a world in which Ryan Pace chose Patrick Mahomes instead of Trubisky... God wouldn't that be a sight to behold. It's becoming more and more clear that Pace chose the worst quarterback of the 3 and probably saved his job when he traded for Mack. Trubisky has not progressed beyond a 1 read quarterback. He doesn't see the field well (He missed wide open receivers downfield several times against GB). His arm strength is pedestrian, at best, and his down field accuracy is still garbage. At this point, I'm almost ready to say that him becoming Alex Smith would be a compliment to him at this point. The more I watch him play, the more Blake Bortles/Tim Tebow I see in his game. He's going to play against an even tougher defense next week against Denver - where, historically, they've been nearly unbeatable at home early in seasons. I am not confident he will bounce back, but I'm also not super confident Denver will be able to put up many points against this Bears defense with Joe Flacco playing quarterback. If the Bears are going to win, it's likely going to have to be because of turnovers or a defensive score.

I hate looking at silver linings after a game like that, but I was really impressed with the way Trubisky handled the spotlight late in that game. There were a lot of people, myself included, that wanted to see how he'd play having to bring the team back from a deficit in the 4th quarter. He didn't have many opportunities to do that this year, because the Bears were usually playing with a lead, so at least when it comes to that, I thought he made some impressive throws in big moments, and hopefully that bodes well for him going in to next season. I also just want to say that Roquan Smith is the real deal. What a game for him. That interception was incredible. He just flat out took it from the guy and nearly ran it back for a TD had he not been down by contact. There wasn't anybody catching him. And for a LB'er to be able to run stride for stride with a receiver the way he did on that deep ball that wound up being an incompletion is insane. I think he's got All-Pro potential written all over for him. I think Pace nailed that pick. Lastly, I'll just say that going into next year, the Bears need to address the RB situation, because I think Jordan Howard needs to be replaced. He struggled to break tackles all year, and looked slower than usual on plays where he would get to the 2nd level. The Bears really need somebody more explosive who can take it the distance when he gets past those LB'ers and into the secondary. They need to find the next Kareem Hunt without the character issues. To me, that's going to be the most important thing the Bears do all off-season, because it could change the dynamic of the offense completely and make them a hell of a lot more explosive.

Robbie Gould is a free agent.

They also had the easiest schedule in the NFL this year. Don't look at who they play next year, because it's not going to be pretty. This was their year to take advantage of things that fell their way with the Packers uncharacteristically faltering, the schedule, and the injury luck they were afforded all season long.

It's amazing how all 3 phases had signature bad moments in this game that contributed to the loss. The offense couldn't score more than 15 points against a defense that isn't very good; the defense blew a 4th quarter lead in the final minutes on the most critical drive of the game, and then the kicker missed another chip shot of a FG that should have given them the victory after a brilliant drive by Trubisky to put themselves in position.

What a waste of a season. Bears blew it when they didn't cut Parkey 3 months ago. Came back to bite them after Mitch Trubisky leads them to what should have been his 1st playoff win.

This game has been so bad on all levels. The officiating has been absolutely atrocious. Bears offense going backwards, the defense forcing turnovers, but still can't get to the quarterback. It's really going to come down to these next 3 weeks to determine how legitimate this team is at making the playoffs. If you had to ask me today, my gut tells me they're no better than the 3rd best team in the division.

It's so fitting that Kevin White, the guy Matt Nagy has benched in favor of the special teamer Josh Bellamy, almost tied up the game with a big-time catch near the goal line in the final seconds. Favoring Josh Bellamy over Kevin White is so indefensible it makes my head hurt. I get that White isn't the guy the Bears projected him to be coming out of the draft, but the guy can still run down the field and make contested catches in traffic. He doesn't have to run amazing routes, he just has to run really freakin fast and make plays down the field. Infuriating. I sure as hell hope those last few plays White made may change the coach's mind about the depth chart going into the next few games. Give the kid a chance.

Next two weeks are must wins. You usually only get 6 losses to make the playoffs most years. If the Bears lose 4 games before getting into the bulk of their divisional games in the coming weeks, you can pretty much say goodbye to your post-season hopes. They also have the Rams, which is almost certainly a loss as well. That's why that Miami game was so crucial, because you expected this Patriots loss. 4-2 looks so much better than 3-3.

This is not a playoff team.

You're not kidding. I had the same reaction. Why do our DB's look so freakin slow? It's not just this game either. Everytime there's a receiver running down field with the ball with a bit of space, it's like he blows by anybody and everybody within the general vicinity like they're not even there. Eddie Jackson, in particular, takes some of the most atrocious angles I've ever seen. He was brutal all game. Fuller has never been good when he trails a play. I'd have to watch it again, but I wouldn't be surprised if he did give up.

Yeah, I'm not sure what to say about Leonard Floyd anymore. The "he was hurt", or the "He's doing the little things that don't show up on the stat sheet" excuses are running a little thin right now. It's starting to feel a little Shea McClellin-ish to me the way people are talking about him now. "Well, he ALMOST got there!" Dude is invisible out there. The Bears didn't draft him #9 overall so he could wrap up ball carries 5 yards down field. With Mack and Hicks taking all the double teams, there is no reason in the world why Leonard Floyd should not have at least a few sacks by now. If this trend continues, you might have to label him the second clear bust behind Kevin White. The only time I've heard his name all year were the two penalties (which should not have been penalties, btw) he was called for in this game. He had a fumble recovery in the Seattle game. That's literally it.

Defense was the main reason they lost the game. That was even worse than the Packer's game. It looked like the beginning of the Arizona game, except it lasted for all 4 quarters. When 80 year old Frank Gore gashes you for almost 7 YPC, and you give up 380 yards and 3 TD's to a god awful quarterback, who is now 4-0 in his career against the Bears, you deserve to lose. Trubisky was terrible in that first half. Missed a touchdown to Anthony Miller on the first drive of the game, and wasn't really able to get anything going until he started connecting with Gabriel down the field in the 3rd quarter. The interception was really bad, but it never should have happened if the officials don't take it away after a ridiculous call against Trey Burton that negated a touchdown. In reality, the Bears left 14 points on the board between that play and the Howard fumble at the 1 yard line. 28 points still should have been enough to win that game. I think what we are starting to find out right now is that this defense is definitely not worthy of elite status, and I'm starting to wonder if they wouldn't be downright bad without Mack playing otherworldly. He was a no show all game after he messed up his ankle. Guys weren't getting off blocks, RB's were falling forward and gaining positive yards on every run, nobody could tackle.. After that Dolphins first TD, I said to myself this was going to be one of those games. These types of games are the reason I find it impossible to be a glass half full guy as a Bears fan. Anybody who's been watching the Bears over the years knows how rare those Tampa Bay games are. There's been a hell of a lot more bad than good. It just seems like, for whatever reason, this franchise can't handle any success. The minute they win a couple in a row, they almost always follow it up with a clunker. The worst part of this loss is that they have to follow it up next week against the Patriots. It's almost like 2 losses. I'd be shocked now if they win that game next week. But if they do, it could yet again change the narrative of the season. I think it will determine how the rest of the season shapes up.

Welp, that was pretty much a perfect game on both sides of the ball. Trubisky FINALLY had one of those high ceiling games, and the Bears defense continues to dominate. Never would have anticipated this, but this is the kind of stuff I needed to see, particularly on offense, to allow me to relax a bit about this teams playoff chances. 3-1 heading into the bye. Should be 4-0, but still #1 in the division. They need to take care of business against Miami, but that NE game is already getting me excited.

My hot takes after week 3: - Trubisky is currently the worst starting quarterback in the NFL. - The Bears defense has issues in the secondary, but I like their ability to battle back after a rough start and dominate - Bilal Nichols is a player to keep an eye on - Khalil Mack is the best defensive player in football - Bears have a shot at the post-season if they can go into the bye 3-1. The Bears sort of remind of the early years of Rex Ryan's coaching tenure with the Jets when they went to back to back AFC Championship games despite the horrid performance they got from their highly prized 1st round quarterback. The defense, though I still am not in love with their corners, is playing at a top 5 level through 3 games so far. If they can get Leonard Floyd to show that he can play football again, that will only add to what I consider to be the best front 7 in football right now. Khalil Mack changes everything. I think this defense has the potential to carry this team into the playoffs even if Trubisky continues to under perform the way he has been, though it is not going to be an easy task. That's great for the short term, but bigger picture: If Trubisky proves that he isn't very good, the Bears are so hosed a year or two or three down the road with no high draft picks to take another guy. They would have to hope there is another Kirk Cousins/Kase Keenum-like guy available in free agency to take advantage of this 2-3 year window, because time is already ticking. We can't afford to go through another year and a half watching quarterbacks lose games for us when we have the best defensive player in football right in the middle of his prime.

Always good to get the W, but Trubisky's performance continues to worry me moving forward. He just does not look like a competent QB to me. It's rare for a QB to fix poor pocket presence. As long as he continues to look this rattled out there, teams are going to blitz more and more throughout the year, which, of course, could lead to more turnovers. I think Nagy needs to do a better job of getting Jordan Howard more touches throughout the course of the game to settle defenses down a bit, as well as Trubisky. Also, where is Kevin White? I saw Bellamy out there. I think I only saw KW lined up one time all game. He had a nice pre-season. I'd like to see him given more of an opportunity to stretch the field. Defensively, that was another dominating performance for 3 quarters of the game, but I still feel uneasy about this team plays against teams that go no huddle. Since Rodgers started running it in the 2nd half last week, the Bears have yet to keep a team from scoring touchdowns against them. Once Wilson went to it later on in the game, the Bears defense turned pretty ordinary. I know Prince made a game saving pick 6 in the 4th, but as great as that front 7 looks at times, the secondary looks a bit shaky to me. Kyle Fuller still hasn't learned to turn his head around to defend passes downfield. If I were the other team, there is no reason not to run no huddle, and I would start taking more shots down field to challenge these DB's. Luckily, next week is AZ, which SHOULD be an easy win. Maybe that could get this offense back on track and get them to settle in. Trubisky did play a little better in that 2nd half, but if the Bears are going anywhere this year, he needs to be MUCH better than he has shown early on in these first two weeks.

I hate saying this, but if Aaron Rodgers never got hurt and stayed on the field the entire game, I'm not sure any of those turnovers Mack forced would have ever happened. His strip sack and pick 6 occurred with Kizer on the field, and if you put Rodgers in that situation, the fumble possession probably ends in a TD for GB (they were in redzone territory if I recall) and the pick 6 would never happen, because Aaron Rodgers never throws pick 6's. That's a massive 14 point swing working in GB's favor. Instead of 23-24, the game could have been more like 16-31. Boy, this is going to be a rough week... Bears NEED a win against Seattle. With the Mack trade, this is definitely a playoffs or bust season. We all know the %'s of teams making the playoffs after starting 0-2 are not good, and whether it's realistic or not to expect everything to gel this quickly, that is our reality. You pay all those picks for Trubisky and Mack, you lose the luxury of patience, in my opinion.

Fuller is on the low end of the very good #1 CB's in this league. He's still a probowl type of talent, but he isn't the shutdown guy you want him to be in coverage. I'm super glad the Bears got Khalil Mack, but there's just something about having two guys on the outside shutting down the passing game on opposing QB's that makes you feel more secure going into games. As good as the front 7 on the Bears projects to be, that secondary has a ton of question marks when it comes to their ability to create turnovers.

It's the most painful loss to GB since the NFC Championship game. I don't think there's any question about it. They just stopped acting like they knew what football was in the 2nd half, from the coaches to the players. Not running Jordan Howard on 3rd and 1 after he had just finished gashing them for a huge 16 yard run on the play before will haunt them the rest of the year if they miss out on the playoffs by one game. Had they converted that, it likely would have sealed the game. I believe the Packers were out of timeouts, and they only had the 2 minute warning to stop the clock. Before they even ran the play, I was telling everybody that if the Bears gave Rodgers back the football, they were going to lose the game.

Not on social media, but I had a few text exchanges with some people where I said after the first half that it was the happiest I've ever been as a Bears fan since Devin Hester's superbowl kickoff return TD. Then I said the Bears are back.. Then the 2nd half happened, and it immediately knocked me back into my normal, pessimistic state.