The Chicago Bears looked like one of the better teams in the NFC after the first six weeks of the season. Their 5-1 record was proof of that, at least, it was for Bears fans.
The rest of the NFL wasn’t sold. Let’s be honest, three of the Bears’ early-season victories were the result of improbable multi-score comebacks.
The last three weeks — all losses for Chicago — have sent the Bears plummeting back down to earth. At 5-4, coach Matt Nagy’s squad looks a lot like what pundits and league experts predicted they’d be: a defense-dependent team that’s without a quarterback capable of winning games.
It’s a recipe for disappointment and another season without January football. Just don’t tell that to Nagy.
Despite the team’s slide, and the season feeling like it’s on the brink of disaster, Nagy said the Bears are remaining upbeat while understanding the must-win nature of Week 10’s game against the Vikings.
“You can definitely feel right now a positive motivation to go out and win,” Nagy said. “That is probably the best way to put it. I don’t know if it is a sense of urgency.
“We talk about how important the division games are and for us. We talk about the biggest part: Control what you can control. And right now, we put ourselves in this position, being at 5-4.”
If the Bears fall to 5-5 in front of a primetime audience on Monday night, that positive energy will quickly turn to doom and despair. And the calls for wholesale changes in Chicago will only get louder.