Can the Chicago Bears still make a run at the playoffs?
The defending NFC North champions have dug themselves a big hole this season. Can the disappointing Chicago Bears still make a playoff push?
Stranger things have happened in the NFL. A year ago, the Chicago Bears finished 12-4 and won the NFC North for the first time since 2010. It was a remarkable turnaround for a club that had finished dead last in the division each of the previous four seasons.
But thanks to a pivotal trade for defensive standout Khalil Mack and just enough offensive support, the club finished won nine of its final 10 regular-season outings and finished 5-1 vs. their NFC North rivals.
However, things have been far from easy for Matt Nagy’s club in his second season at the helm. The year got off to a rough start on a Thursday night at home against the Green Bay Packers as the Bears lost a frustrating 10-3 contest. And three straight wins would be followed by four consecutive losses.
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All told, Chicago has dropped five of their last seven contests and at times, Nagy’s offense has been inept. And a defense that was tops in the league against the run last season was exposed on too many occasions.
Nagy’s 5-6 squad has scored just as many points (188) as it has allowed. Quarterback Mitch Trubisky has been erratic at best. The offense and running game both rank 29th in the league and only Washington Redskins and New York Jets have totaled fewer passing yards in 2019. And under coordinator Chuck Pagano, the Chicago defense just hasn’t had the same snap it did a year ago.
A team that finished with 50 sacks and an NFL-high 36 takeaways a season ago has gotten to opposing quarterbacks just 26 times and the Bears have forced only 15 turnovers in 11 contests.
The Bears are three games out of the top spot in the division as both the Packers and Minnesota own 8-3 records. That’s the bad news. Even worse is the fact that the club is in the Wild Card mix with teams like the 6-5 Los Angeles Rams and the 5-6 Philadelphia Eagles, two teams that Chicago lost to this year.
Despite the fact that the Chicago Bears do own a 2-1 record vs. their NFC North foes this seasons — second only to the Packers (3-0) after 12 weeks of play — Nagy’s team still has to travel to Detroit (Thanksgiving), Green Bay (Week 15) and Minnesota (Week 17). There are also home tilts with the first-place Dallas Cowboys and Kansas City Chiefs.
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So can the Bears actually make a postseason run, starting in the Motor City on Thursday afternoon?
Never say never, but the odds aren’t in their favor.