It was hard not to feel like the air went out of the NFL playoffs after the Chicago Bears were eliminated. Over the previous three months, the team had become must-watch television because nobody was entirely sure what would happen. They’d become the comeback kids, somehow pulling off wild rallies every week. Both of their playoff games featured insane twists and turns. After falling in overtime to the Los Angeles Rams, the buzz around the postseason seemed to fade. None of the four remaining teams seemed to capture the national imagination.
That may sound like another Bears fan inflating the importance of his team, but not this time. Paul Pabst, who co-hosts The Dan Patrick Show, was down in San Francisco during Super Bowl week and spoke to people from the league office. He told 104.3 The Score that there was an undercurrent of disappointment that the Bears couldn’t reach the big game. They felt the team’s character, thrilling style of play, and polarizing names in Caleb Williams and Ben Johnson would’ve made the game the hottest ticket in years.
The Chicago Bears are a great story.
Sports fans love great stories. Here’s an organization that had been the laughing stock of the NFL for most of the past decade. They experienced the most agonizing playoff defeat in recent history with the Double Doink, fell apart, and endured a tumultuous three-year run under Matt Eberflus, during which they set the franchise records for first and second-longest losing streaks. Then, out of nowhere, here comes a brash, fire-breathing head coach with a computer for a brain that instantly transforms their offense while also not being afraid to openly trash his rivals. Meanwhile, their quarterback builds an almost mythical status as the “Iceman” for his late-game heroics.
The Chicago Bears had become box office. Never mind the fact that they play in the third-largest media market in the country. Of course, the NFL wanted them in the Super Bowl. It would’ve been such an easy sell. The Bears are in their first Super Bowl in 19 years. Johnson gets there in his first season. Caleb Williams vs. Drake Maye. The stories would’ve written themselves, and the ratings probably would’ve been insane. Sadly, the world doesn’t work that way.
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The Bears can’t rely on luck next season.
Anybody with common sense knows a team won’t get so many fortunate bounces two years in a row. That is why this upcoming offseason is so important. They must fortify key positions that held them back at times last season. It sounds like a significant overhaul is coming on defense. There is a real chance that half of the starting lineup will be different this fall. Defensive line will likely be the top priority as Dennis Allen goes hunting for more pass rush help.
The only objective offensively for the Chicago Bears is figuring out the left tackle spot. Ozzy Trapilo won’t return until after the regular season begins. Do they keep Braxton Jones as a bridge option or go hunting for a veteran elsewhere? If the team finds solid answers to all of these questions, the NFL may get its wish to see them in the big dance. No doubt Bears fans are eager for it, still haunted by that loss 20 years ago in Super Bowl XLI.
