NEWSLETTER
I can’t believe we allowed ourselves to think these Chicago Bears could make a surprising playoff push.
FINAL: Cleveland Browns 20, Bears 17 (ESPN Box Score)
Four thoughts on another Bears loss
1) Only the Bears can lose this game:
Sure, I know only a Sith speaks in absolutes. And I understand that the sentence that preceded this one is an absolute. But the 2023 Bears have cornered the market on losing games it should win. This is a road we’ve traveled down before with this team this season. Hence, I feel that it’s OK to speak in absolutes here.
2) Everyone has a nemesis. Frank Grimes had Homer Simpson. The dad in “A Christmas Story” had the Bumpus family dog. And I have Joe Flacco. I thought I’d paid my penance to the football gods when I had to watch Flacco keep my Southern Illinois Salukis from a spot in the FCS playoffs championship game. But 16 years later, I’m left damn near speechless after Flacco threw for 374 yards and two touchdowns against my favorite professional team. Is it too much to yell “a pox on your home!” to a rival quarterback during the holidays? I’m asking for a friend, of course.
3) I wanted the Bears to make a statement today. And they did. In fact, they made a few. The first one they made is that this coaching staff isn’t it. Luke Getsy is going to make a great caddy for Aaron Rodgers as soon as his contract is up in Chicago. Matt Eberflus is going to make someone happy as their defensive coordinator. But as a head coach, the decision-making in a game’s most crucial moments has more often than not been mind-numbing. Winning football starts from the top. And so does losing. The Bears losing winnable games begins and ends with coaching.
MORE: Matt Eberflus Explains Why Bears Didn’t Kick FG Before Halftime
4) Secondly, it felt like this game said a lot for Justin Fields. And if it comes to a point where Chicago trades Fields this offseason, we can probably look at this Browns loss as the beginning of the end of his time in Chicago. Don’t get me wrong. I know the Ryan Pace regime put Fields behind the 8-ball from the get-go. And I understand that Ryan Poles did Fields no favors by hiring a defensive-leaning head coach who hired a first-time play caller as an offensive coordinator. But there comes a point where a clean split is best for all parties. When it comes to the Bears and Justin Fields, it feels like one of those times.
Three Bears highlights
Yeah, I can’t believe this game had actual highlights worth sharing either.
Sweat stuffed the stat sheet to the tune of 5 solo tackles, 2.5 sacks, 3 quarterback hits, and 1 tackle-for-loss. His arrival in Chicago has helped elevate the Bears’ defense. It wasn’t enough to win today’s game, but it’s not as if that was Sweat’s fault.
This is where I say something nice about the coaching staff: For the second consecutive year, a second-round cornerback who was off to a rough start has shown in-season development and improvement. Last year, it was Kyler Gordon. This year, it is Tyrique Stevenson. The Bears should lock Jaylon Johnson into an extension as soon as possible. But if they don’t, at least this secondary has two cornerbacks who look like they’d be a part of a winning team’s defensive backfield.
Unfortunately, there weren’t enough of them for the Bears to win this game.
Three Bears
Darnell Mooney … sigh. I can’t believe how close the Bears were to winning this game:
Between the inability to haul in this deflection and missing a block that played a role in preventing a 4th-and-short conversion, I struggle to think of someone who had a tougher day in the elements than Mooney.
DeMarcus Walker made some splash plays starting opposite of Montez Sweat. Walker was credited with 2 tackles-for-loss, 2 quarterback hits, and a half-sack. If the Bears choose to draft or sign a pass-rusher to start opposite of Sweat, then Walker becomes a dangerous rotational pass-rusher for this team in 2024. But if they don’t, a game like this has me wondering what it could look like for Walker with a full season rushing on the other side of the defensive formation from Sweat.
Jaylon Johnson had one of my favorite moments of the game:
WHAT’S NEXT: Sunday, December 24 — vs. Arizona Cardinals, 3:25 p.m. CT
All we can do is hope that the Bears don’t ruin Christmas Eve.
You can watch the BN Bears Postgame Show below (and check us out here on YouTube):
