Bears: This is a December to remember in Chicago

For the 2019 Chicago Bears, the time to strike is now. It has to be, because even one loss in the next three weeks likely ends any hope of playoff contention.

I say “likely” because the Chicago Bears could get help as other teams ahead of them might stumble.

Whatever happens, the Bears opened the month with a statement win over the Dallas Cowboys that kept them in the hunt.

Now they face divisional rival Green Bay at Lambeau next week, followed by games against AFC title contender Kansas City and the Minnesota Vikings, who they managed to beat with backup QB Chase Daniels in the game. That looked like a signature win at the time, but it was followed by an 0-for-October four-game losing streak that helped put the Bears in this position.

None of this is news to Bears fans. The obvious question is this: Is this team good enough to win three straight games against contending teams to finish at 10-6, and will they get help? Perhaps enough help that even a 9-7 record gets them in?

The question I am far more interested in, and one that won’t be reflected by win/loss record alone (since teams play well in losses and underachieve yet still win all the time), is this: How good is this team, and how good will it be next year?

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This is what matters, especially should the Bears not qualify for postseason play. Quarterback Mitchell Trubisky was terrible at times this year, but he’s been solid for the past few games. Is he simply a bad quarterback? Was his poor play the result of injury? Was it a speed bump of regression on the way to growth? Is his recent play a mirage, coming against bad teams/defenses? Were other problems (poor o-line play, dropped passes) making him look worse?

This goes for other aspects of the team. Was head coach Matt Nagy misusing Mitch’s running ability? Was Nagy calling bad games, or were players just not executing? Can the offensive line play like it did against Dallas, instead being the leaky unit it was earlier in the season? Can the defense continue to play well as key players keep getting hurt? Were kicker Eddy Pinerio’s problems just a glitch?

Were the 2018 Bears a mirage that got to 12-4 due to a defense playing at an insanely high level? After all, this year’s team was largely carryover with some key additions.

Normally, you’d only worry about next year if you weren’t in the playoff hunt. But the Bears precarious position leaves them in a place where worrying about the questions facing this team is a short-term and long-term proposition at the same time. Answering some of these questions (if some haven’t been answered already in recent weeks) will be necessary for the team to make the postseason, but the answers also matter if the Bears plan to have a 2020 that resembles 2018 more than 2019 – and if the Bears plan to be a contender for several years under Nagy and perhaps Trubisky.

This December won’t be interesting just because the Bears are still in the playoff race, if just barely. It will be interesting because how the team plays – and not just how many of the final three games it wins – could answer a lot of questions that have been bothering Bears fans since the collapse against Oakland. Not only that, but more questions could come to light.

Next. Bears: 3 takeaways from win over Dallas. dark

December 2019 will be memorable for the Chicago Bears no matter how it plays out. That’s one thing that is far more clear than the playoff picture.

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