One thing that has been the same throughout my entire life and will continue to be the same long after I’m gone is that the Bears will always be the Bears.
Buckle up people, it’s not going to be sunshine and rainbows this week.
The 2023 NFL regular season is now over and once again, the playoffs will begin this week without the Bears taking part. They were eliminated two weeks ago, so that is not what I am upset about today.
Readers who have stuck by me throughout the two years I’ve done this column know a few things: I love movies and I HATE the Packers. Despise. This was evidenced in my Week 2 article, after the Bears got crushed by Green Bay in their season opener and threw all of the preseason excitement out the window.
It didn’t get much better after that. Chicago started the season 0-4, looked like the worst team in the league for the second year in a row and made Sundays incredibly sad occasions for fans like myself. It looked like just another year in the basement of the league, eagerly waiting for it to end so we could find out how high we were picking in the draft.
Then, something clicked, or so it seemed.
Up until the final week of the season, the Bears looked like a different team. The defense started cooking to the point where it looked like a top-five unit in the league. Justin Fields returned from a midseason injury and came back on a mission. He looked awesome at points, and the team rallied around him. Heading into the final week of the season, a team that started 0-4 sat at 7-9, and could have had an even better record if not for some historic collapses. (We’ll get there)
But there was one task left to complete. Waiting for the Bears in Week 18 was none other than the Packers. To up the stakes even higher, a Bears win over Green Bay would keep the cheeseheads out of the playoffs for the second year in a row. The kind of stuff dreams are made of. I, of course, went all in. I Declared this game to be my personal Super Bowl while convincing myself that this would finally be the time that my guys would beat theirs. It had to happen this time.
It didn’t.
For the 10th time in a row and 22nd time out of 25 tries, the Packers won. The Bear offense scored just nine points, no touchdowns, against a defense that gave up 30 to the Panthers less than a month ago. The defense that had been killing it over the past two months was lifeless, giving up nearly 500 yards of offense while letting Jordan Love tear them apart. After getting my hopes up once again, for a game that had very little meaning in the big picture I might add, I had reached my breaking point.
Suffice to say, I did not handle the loss well.
What followed the loss was one of the angriest, loudest and most defeated rants I’ve ever gone on in my life. Poor Stephanie could do nothing but sit and watch in horror as my heart rate skyrocketed and I paced around the apartment, looking for some sign of hope that the future would not just be more of the same.
Once I finally calmed down, I did some rational thinking. Not my strong suit, but something I can pull off now and again. My thinking didn’t make things better however, it made it much, much worse as I realized how fraudulent this uptick the Bears had gone through had been.
Let’s break it down.
Of the seven teams the Bears beat this season, four of them have already fired their head coaches. Just one of them made the playoffs, the Detroit Lions. Chicago’s win came during their worst stretch of the season. That brings me to my next point: The Bears should have beaten the Lions twice, but blew a double digit lead in the fourth quarter and lost the game. That was one of three times Chicago did that this season. If the Bears were a competent team and held on to those games like 99% of teams would have, they would have made the playoffs. Pain.
Simply put, even when the Bears were playing good football, they were not a good team. They didn’t have what it took to compete with playoff caliber teams on a consistent basis, were good enough to beat teams worse than them and that’s about it. It’s a case of mediocrity at its finest. Unless there’s a drastic change, more of the same awaits.
The good news is, a chance for a drastic change exists.
The Bears own the No. 1 pick in this year’s draft, courtesy of the Carolina Panthers. It’s a good year to have it, as the top prospect, USC quarterback Caleb Williams, is one of the most highly touted guys coming out in a long time. Obviously, there’s no such thing as a sure thing when it comes to drafting quarterbacks, so there is plenty of risk involved. The debate all season long has been whether or not to take the chance and draft him, or to keep riding with Justin Fields and hope the improvement materializes into wins.
After losing to the Packers once again, I’m ready for a change.
It hurts me to say this, as I’ve been a strong supporter of Justin since Day 1 and I’ve wanted nothing but for him to become the best QB in Bears history. Unfortunately, the more time that goes on, the less likely that is to be the case. Not often do guys who have been in the league for three years turn into an MVP-caliber player in year four.
This week though, the Bears made it pretty clear that they believe it can happen, committing to head coach Matt Eberflus for next season despite his 10-24 record and only firing offensive coordinator Luke Getsy and his staff. The logical assumption would be that if Eberflus is staying, Fields is too, as drafting Caleb Williams would likely mean making a change and hiring an offensive-minded head coach. Keeping Flus and drafting Williams would be just another example of how not to run a franchise, but nothing will surprise me at this point.
A wise man once said that in this world nothing is said to be certain, except death, taxes and the Bears being the Bears.
I don’t have any quick hitters today. Too much of my brain space is being occupied by the Bears, which is causing me to believe I’m ill. We’ll jump straight into our playoff picks. After a great finish to the regular season, I hope I can keep it going when the games matter most.
Let’s do this.
SATURDAY SHOWDOWNS
Cleveland Browns (-2.5) at Houston Texans
Despite this being the NFL’s version of a “throwaway game” with it being played on Saturday afternoon, this is a very compelling game. The resurgent veteran Joe Flacco and the tough Browns defense against rookie sensation CJ Stroud and the young Texans? Count me in. It’s no secret that Flacco has been on a tear since making his return to the league, making this a very winnable game for the road team here.Stroud is going from playing at 1 p.m. on Sunday every week for the first 17 before having to get ready for two primetime Saturday showdowns. He certainly looked ready last week against Indy. These two teams met not too long ago in a game Cleveland won by two touchdowns. While I think this game will be much closer, I still like the Browns to move on.
The Pick: Browns -2.5
Miami Dolphins at Kansas City Chiefs (-4)
This game will be streamed exclusively on NBC’s streaming app, Peacock. Great way to make sure everyone can watch it. The storyline for this game this week has been the expected weather in Kansas City, with temperatures going well below zero. The Chiefs have played in this element plenty of times, most of them coming in the playoffs. From Miami’s perspective, they sure wish they took care of business and won the AFC East. The Dolphins have been decimated with injuries on both sides of the ball over the past few weeks, and players like Raheem Mostert and Jaylen Waddle have uncertainties about suiting up for this game. The Chiefs have had their worst season under Patrick Mahomes and still won eleven games, an impressive feat. I’ve seen Mahomes do this a thousand times at Arrowhead in January, and I expect to see him do it a thousand and one.
The Pick: Chiefs -4
1 O’CLOCK SUNDAY
Pittsburgh Steelers at Buffalo Bills (-10)
After an awful start to the season, the Buffalo Bills were able to finish off strong and win the AFC East. Considering they were 6-6 and facing a trip to Arrowhead, that’s mighty impressive. The Steelers were able to sneak in after beating the Ravens in Week 18 combined with the Jaguars finishing off a monster choke by losing to the Titans. Weather isn’t expected to be great in Buffalo either, which, I know, is shocking. The big blow for Pittsburgh is that they will be without star defensive player TJ Watt. I do think that Buffalo ends up winning this game, but this is the type of contest that the Bills have snoozed through many times this year. Heavy favorites at home, all the momentum on their side, and they lay an egg. The Bills win the game, but give me the Steelers for the points.
The Pick: Steelers +10
LATE AFTERNOON SLATE
Green Bay Packers at Dallas Cowboys (-7.5)
By now, you know the Packers were able to finish strong and make the playoffs. The youngest team in terms of average roster age to do so. Ho-hum. Dallas had a fantastic year, winning the big games it needed to, coupled with an Eagles collapse, to win the NFC East. One of the most talked about aspects about the Cowboys this season has been how different of a team they have been at home as opposed to the road. Dallas has been lights out at Jerry World, destroying opponents left and right, which has been the case for a few years now. Except in the playoffs. However, outside of a great showing against the Bears last week, the Packers defense has been suspect all season long. The Cowboys have the perfect offense to exploit it, and I believe they do.
The Pick: Cowboys -7.5
WAITIN’ ALL DAY FOR A SUNDAY NIGHT
Los Angeles Rams at Detroit Lions (-3)
This is by far the game I am the most excited for this weekend. Matthew Stafford going back to Detroit where it all began. The Lions hosting their first playoff game in 30 years. Jared Goff facing off against a Rams team that cast him aside and won a Super Bowl with the new guy. This game really does have it all. Los Angeles has been one of the hottest teams in the league stretching back around a month and a half, being led by young studs Puka Nacua and Kyren Williams, as well as the always-excellent Stafford. The Lions are riding high but will most likely be without stud tight end Sam LaPorta, who got hurt in the season finale. I know Detroit fans will be out in bunches for this one, the biggest game for the Lions in my lifetime. It’s going to be an awesome environment, which is why it’s going to be so sad when the Rams end the Cinderella story.
The Pick: Rams +3
MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL
Philadelphia Eagles (-3) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Eagles somehow feel like the worst team in the playoffs, despite having more wins than NFC South champion Tampa Bay, who they are headed on the road to face. Philly has been downright lifeless over the last month or so, stumbling to the finish line with back-to-back losses to the Cardinals and Giants. The Bucs defeated the Panthers in Week 18 to clinch the division, but only scored nine points in doing so. Baker Mayfield is banged up, but deserves all the credit in the world for getting this team here. I’m trying not to overreact to last week’s stinky performance against the worst team in the league, but I worry about Baker’s health. It’s been wise to fade Philly for so long now, I don’t know how that magically changes here. Funnily enough, I think this is the hardest choice of the week.
The Pick: Buccaneers +3
I’m a lot more confident in some of these games than others, but I’m certain that a great weekend of football awaits us. I’ll see you guys on the other side.
Cheers.
Last Week’s Record: 10-6
Season Record: 141-123-8