NFL 100: Which losing teams can turn it around and who is done for the year?

#2 Chicago Bears – The season is over

This is a team I projected to miss the playoffs, but I didn’t think it would be because they rushed for under 20 yards and gave up 36 points at home to a Saints team without Drew Brees. For a group that bolstered the premier defense in the NFL and finished last season with a 12-4 record, you have to question their identity and how they could turn things around when they probably are the worst team in the NFC North at this moment.

After losing a 10-3 game against Green Bay in the season-opener, the Bears rattled off three straight wins over the Broncos, Redskins, and Vikings. It looked like I would be wrong on this team, because of how they pulled out a rabbit late at Denver, with how dominant they looked in a rout over Washington and making that Vikings offense look like a mess, while completely bottling up the league’s leading rusher Dalvin Cook.

They were traveling overseas to play the Raiders in London for that Khalil Mack revenge game, but really got dominated up front on both sides of the ball. Then they came off their bye week and the offense was an absolute joke, with the final score looking much better than it actually was, as Mitch Trubisky and company actually didn’t score until 2:30 left in the game.

Trubisky won’t find any success throwing the ball ahead of the sticks, they just ran the ball seven times despite having a guy in David Montgomery, who I thought would win Offensive Rookie of the Year, and the offensive line has been a disaster, now without Kyle Long for the rest of the year. Even the defense has taken a step back after that dominant performance against Minnesota, because of the loss of Akiem Hicks and just being on the field too much.

The road ahead doesn’t look much easier, however. I expect them to beat another struggling squad in the Chargers, but then they are going to Philly to play a desperate Eagles team, host a pissed off Detroit team and meet the Rams at the Coliseum, who are looking to go on a run after pushing all the chips into the middle of the table with that Jalen Ramsey trade.

A matchup against the Giants might give them some confidence back, but that five-game stretch to end the season is just BRUTAL – at Detroit on Thanksgiving, versus the Cowboys on Thursday night, at Green Bay, a Sunday night matchup against the Chiefs and then a week 17 trip to Minnesota, where they still haven’t forgotten about how the Bears kicked them out of the playoffs last year.