Chicago Bears: Closing remarks for disappointing 2019 season

2. Chicago Bears failing to win outside of the NFC North

Now yes, the team did go 4-2 in the division, which is fantastic. The negative part of that was their record outside of the NFC North. The Bears went 4-6 against the rest of the NFL. The Bears were 7-5 against the whole NFC Conference but struggled against the AFC. Besides beating the Broncos, the team went 1-3 against AFC opponents.

That simply isn’t good enough to be a playoff team. The Bears finished 8-8 and missed the playoffs by two games. 4-2 in the division doesn’t cut it. Winning the divisional games are important, which is something they’ve done during the last two seasons. They just couldn’t win outside of it this time around.

Losing to the Packers twice was terrible for the Bears. If they cannot beat the Packers, they can’t win the division. It’s that simple. Even though both games were one-possession games, the team failed to steal one of those games. In 2020, they will need to beat the Packers if they want to reclaim the NFC North. There is no way of getting around it.

Beating both the Lions and Vikings twice was great but they can’t sleep on either of those teams in 2020. Just because they swept them two straight seasons doesn’t mean 2020 will be the same. Everything changes year-to-year. For example, not many people predicted an 8-8 Chicago Bears team but that’s what happened.

In 2020, the team will be playing a third-place schedule. That just means they’ll be playing two easier games and will get home games against the top two teams in the NFC South and AFC south.

So, home-field advantage against the tougher teams in 2020 is great. The team needs to capitalize on this. They have great players on offense and defense. There must be coordinator changes on both sides of the ball. There are some coaching issues that will be addressed by Matt Nagy and Ryan Pace in the offseason.

If the front office plays their cards right, 2020 will be a playoff year for the Bears because the talent is all there. They just need to move some pieces around. Both lines and tight end positions are the top issues to address in the offseason.

It comes down to the quarterback position. All the pressure is on Trubisky. I believe Trubisky is the future of the Bears. He was pushed to start way too soon. If he was a guy that needed three years to develop, it will show in 2020.

He might not be Patrick Mahomes great but he can still be a solid quarterback. There are plenty of solid quarterbacks that have won big games and even Super Bowls. It all will come down to confidence, preparation, and the work he puts in during the offseason.