The Chicago Bears’ 26-3 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday Night Football was a nationally-televised three-hour reminder of what could have been.
So much so, Patrick Mahomes was getting it in with a dig at a team that passed on him in the draft:
Yes. He. Did.
Nice work @NFLonNBC pic.twitter.com/7VsvWe0YfR— Peggy Kusinski (@peggykusinski) December 23, 2019
OK, so technically it was a dig at the nine teams that ultimately decided not to choose him in the NFL Draft. It’s just that one stood out more than the rest for all the obvious reasons that have been beaten into the ground all week (and frankly, since last year). Let’s face it, the Browns, 49ers, Jaguars, Titans, Jets, Chargers, Panthers, and Bengals would push their respective quarterbacks out of the depth charts to have Mahomes. But everyone will remember that the Bears missed the boat. Hence, that level of petty was something a man of my tastes can appreciate — even if it came at the expense of the team I root for on a weekly basis.
To be clear, it wasn’t all Mahomes. But having that quarterback play in that system with an ace play-caller and a defense that appears to have found itself just smacks of what the Bears should have been. Or better yet, what the Bears thought they were going to be. Athletic quarterback with upside, play-caller from a coaching tree that has proven to be successful, and a defense that brings it all together. Only one organization had all of the above last night, and it wasn’t the home team.
In the end, the Bears have just one game left to play. And while we can build it the regular season finale, it wouldn’t be true to what we do here. The time has come to start the clock on the most important offseason of Ryan Pace’s career. Tick. Tock.