Just six weeks ago, the Bears were wallowing in dysfunction that was evoking comparisons to the dreaded final weeks of the Phil Emery/Marc Trestman era. Change seemed imminent.
The Bears were 2-6 after a 30-13 loss to the Chargers. They had won as many games with Tyson Bagent at quarterback as with Justin Fields. Running backs coach David Walker was fired for a personal-conduct issue — the second assistant coach to leave under awkward circumstances after defensive coordinator Alan Williams’ bizarre resignation in Week 2.
Matt Eberflus not only looked to be in over his head as a head coach, but still was struggling to just get his side of the ball right. The Bears’ defense was showing signs of improvement but still ranked 23rd in yards, 28th in points, 22nd in takeaways and 32nd and last in the NFL in sacks.
At that point, even general manager Ryan Poles was in the crosshairs. The Bears were 5-20 in his two seasons. The guy who promised to “take the North and never give it back” was 0-8 against division opponents. Poles had hired Eberflus, who had hired Williams and Walker.
While cutting backup quarterback P.J. Walker and offensive lineman Alex Leatherwood were minor admissions of a miss, the trade of wide receiver Chase Claypool to the Dolphins on Oct. 6 was a major one. Trading a second-round pick for defensive end Montez Sweat was progress, but Sweat had yet to play a game for the Bears.
Six weeks later, Poles and the Bears have emerged from that darkness but still are last in the NFC North, with changes more likely than not. Eberflus has steadied his listing ship, but even if he stays, the status of offensive coordinator Luke Getsy and Fields for 2024 is in question with four games to go.
But as Bears losing seasons go, this one comes with a silver lining: They are getting better. Whether Eberflus or Jim Harbaugh or Bobby Slowik is the head coach, whether Fields or Caleb Williams or Drake Maye is the quarterback and whether Getsy or some hot quarterbacks coach is the offensive coordinator in 2024, the Bears’ arrow is almost certain to be pointing up heading into the offseason.
This is far from 2021, when the Bears finished 6-11 and fired Matt Nagy. That team lost nine of its last 12 games. Eberflus inherited a defense on the way down — from first to fourth to 14th to 22nd in points allowed in Nagy’s four seasons. Poles’ first draft pick in 2022 was 39th overall.
In 2024, whoever is coaching the Bears will have a defense on the rise with a solid core of proven contributors at all three levels, starting with Sweat, who has been as good as advertised as a “multiplier” in Eberflus’ defense.
And even the chronically work-in-progress Bears offense has a better foundation — not only with wide receiver DJ Moore and improving tight end Cole Kmet, but with an improving line already with two Pro Bowl-caliber players in left guard Teven Jenkins and rookie right tackle Darnell Wright.
So if the Panthers finish with the worst record in the NFL, the Bears’ quarterback quandary for next season is actually a good one, by Bears standards: either Fields with Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. as a potential difference-making weapon or a touted prospect such as Williams or Maye, who will have a more established foundation — a better defense, a better offensive line and better weapons — than Fields had when he was a rookie in 2021.
A lot of factors still have to go right, of course. These are still the Bears we’re talking about. But while the debate rages over who should stay and who should go, no matter what decisions are made, the Bears’ next step should be forward in 2024. That’s progress around these parts.
2. Speaking of solid foundations, the Bears are one of two NFL teams that rank in the top five in rushing offense (fourth) and rushing defense (second). The 49ers are the other; they rank third in rushing offense and first in rushing defense.
For what it’s worth, the four other teams that rank in the top 10 in both categories are a combined 38-14 — the 49ers (10-3), Eagles (10-3), Lions (9-4) and Dolphins (9-4). The Bears are 5-8.
3. Poles’ deal for the Panthers’ first-round pick has spared Bears fans the awkwardness of rooting for the team to play well and lose this season. The Panthers (1-12) have a two-game “lead” over the Patriots (3-10) and Cardinals (3-10) for the No. 1 pick and have the strength-of-schedule tiebreaker over both teams.
The last time a team was in the Bears’ position was in 1983, when the Buccaneers traded their first-round pick to the Bengals for quarterback Jack Thompson, then finished 2-14. The Bengals traded the No. 1 overall pick to the Patriots, who took Nebraska wide receiver Irving Fryar and went to the Super Bowl two years later.
Since then, two teams have had the worst record but not the No. 1 overall pick. In 1989, the Cowboys finished 1-15 but had given up their first-round pick to take quarterback Steve Walsh in the supplemental draft. In 2001, the Panthers finished 1-15, but the expansion Texans were given the No. 1 overall pick.
4. Knock on Wood Dept.: The Bears’ offensive line of left tackle Braxton Jones, left guard Jenkins, center Lucas Patrick, right guard Nate Davis and right tackle Wright — their best combination in two seasons under Getsy — is developing some long-sought-after continuity.
The Browns game will be their fourth consecutive start as a unit. That’s the first time Fields will play behind the same starting O-line combination for more than three consecutive games.
5. Fields, perhaps not coincidentally, has not thrown an interception in three consecutive games (93 passes) — the longest streak of his 36-start NFL career. His previous long streak of passes without an interception was 77 against the Patriots, Cowboys, Dolphins and Lions in Weeks 7-10 last season.
6. The Bears held the Lions to 267 yards,134 below their average of 401. It’s the fifth consecutive game since Sweat arrived that the Bears have held their opponent below its season average with the differential increasing in each game — against the Saints (minus-37), Panthers (minus-57), Lions (minus-63), Vikings (minus-100) and Lions (minus-134).
7. Credit Where It’s Due Dept.: Trailing 13-10, the Bears outscored the Lions 9-0 and outgained them 137-21 in the third quarter. The Bears have outscored their last four opponents a combined 29-0 in the third quarter. That’s a big turnaround from the first eight games when they were outscored 62-25 in the quarter.
8. The List — The top five quarterbacks by passer rating in Week 14: Jake Browning, Bengals (122.7); Brock Purdy, 49ers (122.1); Zach Wilson, Jets (117.9); Bailey Zappe, Patriots (115.2); Tommy DeVito, Giants (113.9). That’s two undrafted players (Browning, DeVito), the last pick of the draft (Purdy), a fourth-round pick (Zappe) and a No. 2 overall pick who has been beaten out or benched three times in the last two seasons (Wilson).
9. Ex-Bear of the Week: Ravens linebacker Roquan Smith had 10 tackles, including two tackles for loss, in a 37-31 victory over the Rams. Smith, Baltimore’s Walter Payton Man of the Year Award nominee, leads the 10-3 Ravens with 136 tackles in 13 games.
10. Bear-ometer: 7-10 — at Browns (L); vs. Cardinals (W); vs. Falcons (W); at Packers (L).
