Can the Bears draw inspiration from Washington Nationals?

Can the Chicago Bears draw some inspiration from the Washington Nationals the rest of the way?

What in the world could the Chicago Bears have in common with the Washington Nationals? Perhaps more than you think. However, let’s start with what they do not have in common. Two nights ago, the Nationals pulled off the improbable but defeating the powerhouse Houston Astros in the World Series. In doing so, they beat the most dominant pitching staff in baseball the entire season. Today they are world champions — a title the Bears would love to share with the Nats, but currently seems unlikely.

However, there was a point in the season where that possibility seemed like the longest of long shots for the Nats. That’s because nearly one-third of the way through the regular season, they found themselves with a record of 19-31, good for the third-worst record in the National League at the time.

It’s safe to say there were likely many fans who considered the season over and began looking forward to the offseason. However, this sentiment was clearly not shared by the team, as they stormed through the remainder of the season to secure a Wild Card spot in the playoffs, and then knocking off the two teams with the best records in baseball on their way to the title.

Similarly, the Bears find themselves in dire straits. They sit 3-4, in an incredibly tough division, and have struggled mightily on offense the entire year. Nothing in their first seven games has given fans any hope that they are a playoff contender, let alone a Super Bowl hopeful. And there are many, myself included, who thought the Bears should have been sellers at the trade deadline and began looking forward to the future.

Fortunately, though, the players certainly don’t share that sentiment, which is why, although it’s a longshot, there is still hope the Bears can pull off the improbable. The odds are certainly stacked against them, and they will need Mitchell Trubisky to play infinitely better, but they have to take a “one game at a time” approach — as cliched as that is.

And it seems the head coach is on the same page. In fact, I had this post completed and scheduled for publication when I saw the tweet below.

It’s clear I’m not the only one who sees the value in drawing inspiration from the Nats, being able to point to a recent example of a team that overcame longer odds than the Bears face. This is exactly the right approach by Nagy.

It would have been easy for the Nats to fold back in May, just as it would be easy for the Bears to pack it in now. But they must try to draw inspiration from the Nats and hope that come February, the sporting world is talking about two unlikely champions in sports this year.