After devastating loss in Week 10, Chicago Bears face tough road

After losing in heartbreak fashion in Week 10, the Chicago Bears face an uphill battle in their search for another win this season. The Chicago Bears are hard at work looking ahead to the Atlanta Falcons. However, they could still be thinking about last week’s devastating loss.

They were in control in the fourth quarter against the struggling Detroit Lions when, all of a sudden, everything fell apart. They kept committing dumb penalties that either hurt their drives or extended Detroit’s. Then quarterback Justin Fields threw a pick-six that tied the game.

Fields did come back and had an electric 67-yard touchdown run, but then the normally reliable Cairo Santos missed the extra point. The Lions marched down 91 yards late in the game and hit their extra point for the win.

This was one of the games circled in the schedule that many pundits thought would be a certain victory for the Bears. The Lions had the worse defense in the NFL. They struggle both against the run and against the pass. With Chicago’s offense rolling the past month, this was supposed to be the Bears winning going away.

The Chicago Bears are still searching for a win after three long weeks

Instead, the Bears were left wondering what is next. Sure, the main goal this season wasn’t how many wins they could have. Developing the young players and evaluating who would be the best options going forward in the rebuild is the priority. However, it would be nice for the Bears to win at least a couple of these close games.

The Bears cannot afford to lose gimme games. They had one against the Houston Texans and almost gave that one up before a late interception led to the win.

They then had another against the Washington Commanders. Washington came in losing four games in a row and had troubles on and off the field. This was a game that would help the Bears get on track. Instead, they had multiple occasions in which they failed in the red zone and lost the game. Washington went on to win four of five games. The Bears, meanwhile, are losers of six of their last seven games.

Now, against the Lions, they have a fourth-quarter collapse that resulted in another loss. The road ahead for the Bears is a difficult one now. They travel the next two weeks, first against Atlanta, then against the New York Jets. The Falcons are 4-6 but are in a battle with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the NFC South title.

The Jets have surprised many and own a 6-3 record. They are second in a tough AFC East division (every team is above .500). After that, the Bears face the Green Bay Packers, their tormentors. Despite their struggles, they usually find a way to hurt the Bears.

Then Chicago faces the top team in the NFL, the Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles just lost their first game in Week 10 in a controversial game. They are, though, a tough team to beat. If facing the Eagles isn’t tough enough, the Bears then travel to face another New York team, the Bills. The Bills, like the Eagles, are Super Bowl contenders.

In Week 17, the Bears face the Lions again. They may or may not be flying high after beating the Packers and Bears in consecutive weeks. The Bears then finish out the season against the Minnesota Vikings. The Vikings currently have a record of 8-1 and are locked in a battle with the Eagles for the top record in the NFC.

As you can see, there are few opportunities for a Chicago Bears win in the final seven games. They have a shot against the Falcons and the Lions, but, given what we’ve seen so far, no game is a gimme for them. Furthermore, both of those games are on the road, where the Bears have just one victory (the last victory they’ve had so far this season).

Head coach Matt Eberflus has done a good job in spite of trades and an assembly of subpar players on the roster. He has the team fighting hard the entire game, no matter the score. The players have bought into his philosophy. He’ll need more of that for the rest of the season.

We need to remind ourselves what the real purpose for this season is so we can keep perspective. Remember, the Dallas Cowboys went 1-15 in 1989 before going 101-59 with three Super Bowl wins over the next decade. Keep hope alive!