The Chicago Bears haven’t had the season anybody expected. After an active off-season to upgrade the roster, the belief was the team was strong enough at least to double their win total of three from last season. Instead, they’re stuck at three with six games to play. The defense is still a disaster, allowing the fourth-most points in the NFL, and the primary reason they’ve had two of the worst 4th quarter collapses in franchise history. Even worse, the organization still doesn’t have a definitive answer on Justin Fields.
His 2023 season can best be called erratic. He was rough to watch in September, then had two of the best games a Bears QB has ever had against Denver and Washington. Then he struggled and got injured against Minnesota. A few weeks later, he returned in Detroit and played one of his best all-around games but still lost. Even the positives seem to have a bittersweet aftertaste. Bears insider Adam Jahns of The Athletic feels it remains possible for Fields and head coach Matt Eberflus to save themselves, but many around the league don’t expect that to happen.
They foresee significant changes coming.
“Eberflus has never beaten an NFC North team. In 12 games in the division, Fields is 178-for-284 (62.7 percent) for 2,109 yards, 10 touchdowns, 11 interceptions and 35 sacks for an 80.9 passer rating. He’s also run for 787 yards and four scores in those 12 games; the Bears are 1-11 in them.
After blowing a lead against the Lions, the frequent message last week was about finishing Monday night against the Vikings. Fields can’t be outplayed by journeyman Josh Dobbs…
…If Fields fails to win games for Eberflus, then another house cleaning could be coming to Halas Hall. Some around the league already believe it’ll happen. It could become a matter of which offices — Poles’ for example — are left out of the cleanup efforts.”
The Chicago Bears’ fate rests in the hands of Kevin Warren.
That is becoming clearer with each passing week. There are already rumblings that the team president might be looking to shake things up in the football operations. He wants to bring in some of his own people and be more involved in the process. Ownership made it clear he’d have that authority when they hired him. That means if Warren wants to fire everybody, he can. The obvious question is how many will get the ax. Eberflus feels like the most obvious lock. He’s 6-22 and has failed to make the defense viable again. Fields has played better, but not at the level of a true franchise quarterback. It’s hard to imagine another coaching change helping him.
The biggest question mark is Ryan Poles. While the Chicago Bears GM has had some notable misfires like Chase Claypool and Velus Jones, nobody can deny the roster looks a lot better from where it was at this point last season. It’s young, athletic, and physical. He’s also set the team up with two likely top-10 picks and over $80 million in cap space next spring. This team feels poised for a huge leap in 2024, thanks to him. It comes down to whether Warren can trust him to find the right quarterback and head coach.
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Poles’ decision to hire Eberflus could be a significant strike against him in that evaluation. It will be interesting to see how this unfolds if the team can’t put together a small string of victories in the next month and a half.
