Loss No. 8 for the Chicago Bears ended with such a “Who even cares?” feeling Sunday.
Trailing the Arizona Cardinals by 11 points in the closing seconds, quarterback Andy Dalton found a meaningless 11-yard completion over the middle to running back Khalil Herbert, raced his offense to the line of scrimmage and spiked the ball a half-second after time ran out, 5 yards shy of midfield.
With the sky grayer than an elephant’s hide and a cold mist seemingly stuck inside Soldier Field, only a few thousand spectators were still in their seats as time expired on the 33-22 loss. And, well, that was that. Just another predictable but demoralizing defeat for a downcast team that can’t seem to stop losing.
The Bears are losing football games. They’re losing energy. They’re losing focus.
Long ago, they lost the belief of much of their fan base. And it’s likely only a matter of time now before they lose their head coach, much of his staff and quite possibly their general manager too.
Yet almost as soon as Sunday’s result was official, another realization was staring the Bears in the face. They’re miles from the season’s finish line. Five games remain. And the next one is at Lambeau Field — NBC’s Sunday night showcase game for Week 14 — against the championship-contending Green Bay Packers.
Insert the clenched-teeth “Yikes!” emoji here.
During last season’s trip to Green Bay, the Bears fell behind 41-10 in the third quarter and were reminded just how humiliating their existence can be. This season, in games against teams currently inside the NFC playoff picture, the Bears are 0-5 with an average loss of 32-15.
So …
How in the world, amid all this struggle and aggravation, will Bears players find a way to stay locked in? How, in the absence of victories or momentum or general positivity, will the team continue to manufacture the energy needed to succeed?
“That’s a good question,” running back David Montgomery said after Sunday’s loss. “Throughout the entirety of my life, I’ve dreamed of getting to this level. Playing football, I’ve dreamed of getting to a level where I can say I’m a professional athlete in the NFL. And I’m here. As you learn when you get to the NFL, it’s all predicated off wins and losses. But in the midst of it, during the journey, you tend to forget why you do what you do. You forget who you do it for.
“A lot of times, I have to take a step back and understand that I was (once) a little kid playing this game. And you have to get back to the basics of just having fun with it. Regardless of how it looks and even when it’s dark — or as dark as it may seem — you’ve still got to understand that it’s still a game. You’re still meant to have fun. And everybody in the world doesn’t get to do this. So you have to take advantage of it. You have to enjoy it while you’ve got it. Because it’s not forever.”
OK. This was at least a little something, a young and emerging Bears leader vowing to do his part to retain perspective and keep his teammates locked in the grind.
Montgomery spoke to reporters for 8 minutes Sunday. And to be honest, if the Bears want to make every effort they can to retain the investment of their players as indifference pulls at everyone, they should make Montgomery’s question-and-answer session mandatory viewing on the way into the facility this week.
“What you realize and what you learn stepping into a leadership role or a (position) where people watch you is that the things you do happen to carry a lot of weight,” he said. “It becomes infectious. Your mentality. How you practice. How you come into work every day. How you treat everybody else around you. Your character. I take a lot of pride in that.”
There’s only so much you can say about Sunday’s game, the latest dispiriting loss in a Bears season filling with them. Dalton threw four interceptions, each giving the Cardinals possession inside the Bears 30-yard line. Kyler Murray and his offense converted those four short-field gifts into 23 points — more than the Bears have scored in 10 games this season.
On a cold, rainy, altogether dreary day, there was little for a sparse Soldier Field crowd to cheer about. And the anger that seemed to accompany the team’s last home loss — a collapse in Week 11 against the Baltimore Ravens — seemed to be replaced by apathy and resignation.
Sure, there were a few rounds of boos and a “Fire Nagy!” chant or two. But those were few and far between and didn’t really spread through a stadium that seemed at least half-empty for much of the game.
The Bears trailed for all but 4 minutes, 5 seconds and were behind by at least 10 points for the final three-plus quarters.
That’s exactly how it will feel for the final five weeks, too, with the Bears out of it but obligated to keep playing. All the way through the afternoon of Jan. 9.
Major changes in the organization are almost certainly coming. Over the next month, a justifiable pile-on from fans and analysts will continue.
But for those in uniform, playing through pain and competing through frustration, fuel sources will be needed.
Inspiration may come from a younger player such as Montgomery, who had 141 yards from scrimmage and a 1-yard touchdown run Sunday. It may come from a passionate veteran such as Robert Quinn, who recorded his 11th sack and added a stop of James Conner for a 6-yard loss on third-and-goal from inside the 1 in the fourth quarter.
Others such as Roquan Smith, Jaylon Johnson, Darnell Mooney and Eddie Jackson must do their part to set a tone and present examples worth following.
“Even when things are bad,” Montgomery said, “I’m still going to have high character. I’m still going to be that guy who tells everybody, ‘Let’s go. Let’s get it.’ I’m going to be that guy that doesn’t feel sorry for anybody. Including myself. And you understand you just have to keep going.”
Montgomery was obviously aggravated after Sunday’s loss. But he wasn’t seething. His homily was heartfelt, not hollow.
So often, NFL pep talks have less substance than a tuft of cotton candy. And for a team that has lost twice as often as it has won this season, there is no magic cure-all.
But there isn’t an escape hatch for this group either. Thus for another full month, players have to retain purpose and need reliable leaders to provide it with words and action.
“Ain’t gonna be no moping around,” Montgomery said. “I’m not built like that. I been built different my whole life. I’m not going to change now because it gets hard.
“I’m going to go into work, and I’m going to get on everybody’s ass. They’re going to get on mine, too, and we’re going to figure it out. … I ain’t got no quit in my blood. I’m going to make sure nobody else in there ain’t got none in theirs either.”
Source: Berkshire mont
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