Suddenly, the 2021 NFL draft isn’t the first thing on Chicago Bears fans’ minds. Instead, Week 14’s thrashing of the Houston Texans has fans wondering whether a wild card berth is still possible.
Let’s get the obvious out of the way here: the Texans stink. We know this. But that doesn’t dismiss the fact that the Bears — if they are in fact playoff-worthy — did what a playoff team is supposed to do to an inferior opponent. They embarrassed Houston. The 36-7 final score feels like it could’ve been even worse, too.
Mitch Trubisky outdueled Deshaun Watson. Khalil Mack awoke from his sack-slumber. David Montgomery flashed serious juice.
It was the most complete game the Bears played all season, but it may have come a little too late. Chicago’s playoff chances did improve after Sunday’s win, but they still sit at just 22%.
The optimist will say the Bears have two winnable games up next with the Vikings and Jaguars, and they could be facing a Packers team in Week 17 that has nothing left to play for. Green Bay might choose to sit most of their starters for most of the game.
Chicago could end up going 3-0, finish the season 9-7, and with a little help from the Arizona Cardinals’ opponents (Eagles, 49ers, Rams), might find themselves in a January playoff game.
The more likely scenario, however, is that the season will come to another disappointing end on January 3. The 2021 NFL draft will be Chicago’s Super Bowl (again).
And after Sunday’s win, that beacon-of-hope-event just got a little less hopeful. The Bears’ first-round pick dropped from No. 13 to No. 15, pushing them ever further away from landing a blue-chip quarterback in Round 1.
Three games remain in Chicago’s 2020 regular season. There are three games remaining on Trubisky’s contract. At this point, the Bears are better off with Trubisky continuing to trend upward following Sunday’s performance and earning a short-term extension than they are hoping for a few more losses and a new quarterback in April.
That quarterback isn’t coming in the draft. Here’s to hoping he’s already here.