¯\_(ツ)_/¯
As much as I would’ve loved to leave it at that, I can’t. Though, I’ll be honest, there was a good amount of time where I just looked at a blank post and thought it would be OK just to press end because I wanted to present a canvas for all of us – as a Bears community – to vent.
I’ll start.
The Bears looked really bad today and losing 31-28 in overtime to a team starting Brock Osweiler absolutely sucks. It’s painful on every level. And I get it. I feel it. It makes me want to rage more than it probably should.
I was flummoxed by questionable play calling early that kept the Bears from getting into a rhythm and gaining early momentum, befuddled by conservative play calling at the end of overtime led to a tougher potential game-winning field goal attempt than anyone would have wanted, and disappointed in an all-world defense that couldn’t pick up a sack and had just four quarterback hits against an offensive line with two interior linemen out for the season. Like, come on!? Give me something.
An offense that went bonkers against Tampa Bay had two red zone turnovers and three in total. Where was the scripted first-drive magic? Where was the ball security with TWO red zone turnovers. You’ve gotta be kidding me with that, right? This is some kind of joke. Ha ha. Fooled ya, Lu. Ashton Kutcher is supposed to come out and say we’ve been punked and the Bears won. Any minute now…
Sigh.
Here’s the thing: the Bears also looked really good today. To the point where I feel better about their long-term future than I did before the game kicked off.
Here’s Mitch Trubisky’s line (which was absolutely wasted): 22/31 (70.96%), 316 yards, 10.2 yards/attempt, 3 TD, 1 INT, 122.5 rating.
If you would have told me that Trubisky followed up a six-touchdown performance with a three-touchdown day that featured a quarterback rating in the 100s, a completion percentage in the 70s, and a 10.2 average yards per attempt I would’ve taken it every day of the week and twice on Sundays. That’s what it’s supposed to look like coming out of the hand of the first quarterback taken in his respective draft class. And to do it against a defense that limited opposing quarterbacks to the third lowest passer-rating in football heading into Week 6 is nothing short of impressive.
Their free agent additions looked great. Taylor Gabriel stretched the defense vertically with 5 catches and 110 yards, including snags of 47 and 54 yards. Trey Burton scored the Bears’ first touchdown and Allen Robinson followed with the one that gave the team its first lead. These were the types of plays the Bears were hoping their playmakers would make when contracts were drawn up and signed in the offseason. Jordan Howard and Tarik Cohen provided a balanced attack out of the backfield, which could hush some concerns about personnel fits moving forward (at least for this year).
And in the end, the Bears played poorly and still found a way to break our hearts with a soul-crushing defeat. are now 3-2 when they could’ve easily been 4-1.
This stunk. A lot. So let it all out of your system now because the NFL doesn’t throw pity parties for losers. Especially when the New England Patriots are on deck.