(670 The Score) On the final, frenetic play of their 21-13 loss to the Packers on Sunday at Lambeau Field, the Bears brought everyone to the edge of their seats.
Of course they did.
Just 34 yards away from glory, Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky hit running back Tarik Cohen for a short gain. Cohen then lateraled back to Trubisky at the Packers' 21. Trubisky ran five yards before he tossed it back to tight end Jesper Horsted, the former practice-squad player who probably never envisioned being thrust into such an important spot. Horsted rambled down to the 7-yard line, where – instead of lateraling the ball to receiver Allen Robinson, who called for it at the 11 and looked like he could've scored – tacklers converged and caused a fumble. The Packers recovered at the 2 as time expired on the Bears' playoff aspirations.
Horsted coulda, shoulda, woulda.
And how many times after the Bears' seven losses has so much of Chicago been left muttering similar regrets?
How fitting everything came down to this unpredictable, unfulfilling ending. How appropriate that, one snap before Horsted held onto the ball too long, a catchable Hail Mary pass bounced off rookie receiver Riley Ridley's left hand in the back of the end zone. It would've been so Bears if either play would've produced a touchdown only to have the two-point conversion fail.
Sunday's big tease summed up the Bears' season, one that ended for all intents and purpose on a day the coldest reality wasn't the 11-degree temperatures at kickoff.
History will record the 100th Bears season as one of its most underachieving and every bit as frustrating. Mystery surrounds how it got to this point at Halas Hall.
"I'm going to stay positive with our guys because I appreciate their fight," disappointed coach Matt Nagy told reporters in Green Bay.
These streaky Bears put together a three-game winning streak after a four-game losing skid, but ultimately 2019 will be defined by disappointment impossible to measure. The Bears arrived at Bourbonnais in July telling the football world they were Super Bowl contenders. They left Green Bay late Sunday afternoon exposed as pretenders, a sports city's latest victim to expectations even some of players acknowledged were too heavy to bear. You probably could win an argument at your neighborhood bar stating that the Bears have a playoff-caliber roster. You would have just as easy of a time convincing the crowd that the 7-7 Bears struggled most from the shoulders up, from Nagy's stubbornness to Trubisky's psyche.
Too often this year, Nagy's play-calling was too cute and Trubisky's confidence too fragile. Starting in preseason, the Bears' overall approach bordered on overconfidence in the way they assumed things about their team they had no right to assume – starting with the offense.
The Bears only managed 16 measly points in two games against the Packers this season. Go ahead and point out how the Bears needed better tackling from their defense and a stronger game from Khalil Mack, who had just one tackle. Yet, even with a soft secondary and no pass rush to speak of, holding Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers to 16 completions and 203 passing yards and Green Bay's offense to 21 points put the Bears in a position to win. And they couldn't.
They couldn't because they fell behind 21-3 and Nagy called 53 passes and Trubisky threw another bad interception and the offensive line failed to control the line of scrimmage and Ridley let the ball go off his fingers and Horsted never lateraled and on and on and on. The list is long. The rant sounds redundant. It always is regarding the offense when the Bears lose. Even when they've won, too many questions lingered about Trubisky and Nagy and the state of the quarterback-coach marriage.
This is where the promise was most unfulfilled and the trust betrayed. The Bears hired Nagy to develop Trubisky into a franchise quarterback and to implement an innovative offense that kept defenses off-guard. Nagy is 0-for-2 on those objectives without a playoff victory. Not until the Bears receive steadier play from their quarterback and more dynamic consistency from the offense overall will the team contend again for an NFC North championship. If the Bears indeed gave Nagy the job because he was such a terrific play-caller, that has to be more obvious than it has been since the first half of his first season before NFL defensive coordinators adjusted.
The latest example came courtesy of Packers defensive coordinator Mike Pettine, who outschemed Nagy on Sunday, as he did Week 1.
"We just weren't consistent," Trubisky told reporters. "We'll have to continue to stay together, and you guys will continue to write us off."
Sorry, Mitch, there's not much left to write about, frankly, except looking toward the future and rehashing the playoff run that wasn't.
Trubisky ran more willingly than he did the first time against the Packers with four carries for 29 yards but regressed in the passing game with 29 completions in 53 attempts for 348 yards, two interceptions and a passer rating of 65.6. Anthony Miller caught nine passes for 118 yards, fighting through a shoulder injury. Robinson added to his Pro Bowl credentials with seven catches for 125 yards. But nobody else on the Bears offense will want to remember this one. Even Trubisky raised questions about Nagy's play-calling when asked an innocent question about the Packers' pass rush, which sacked him three times.
"I thought we could've taken more pressure off them moving the pocket a little more and me getting out," Trubisky told reporters. "We've just got to continue to find ways to take pressure off our O-line. With a good pass rush like that, continue to mix it up, whether it's with screens, running it, draws – all that kind of stuff helps."
A reporter asked a natural follow-up question: "So you're talking about by design you could've maybe helped the O-line?"
Trubisky: "Could've done a lot of stuff, yeah."
In that brief moment of candor, Trubisky spoke for Bears fans and analysts everywhere. Translation: HUH?!?
Meanwhile, the Bears threaten to waste the best years of a generational defense as they dawdle offensively. Defensive tackle Akiem Hicks returned after a 10-week layoff to show a toughness that epitomized a unit still playing without its starting inside linebackers. Hicks made an impact through pain.
"We gave our all but just didn't have it today," Hicks told reporters.
After falling behind 21-3, the Bears forced four straight punts. Leonard Floyd again wreaked havoc against his favorite opponent. Backup-in-name-only Nick Kwiatkoski continued his clutch play with a big sack to make Trubisky's bad interception moot. Buster Skrine got beat by Davante Adams for a touchdown pass and Mack and the pass rush could've been more disruptive – Rodgers wondered aloud if Lambeau's slick surface proved to be an equalizer – but the Bears won't reflect on this season feeling much regret defensively.
It remains deep and dangerous. It still executes and intimidates. It was good enough for the Bears to be above .500 in mid-December.
It's playoff-worthy, if not playoff-bound.
But the Bears defense isn't good enough to overcome an offense that couldn't locate the end zone without GPS.
And more than anything, losing to the Packers reinforced that's where this season lost direction.
David Haugh is the co-host of the Mully & Haugh Show on 670 The Score weekdays from 5-9 a.m. Listen to the show here. You can follow him on Twitter @DavidHaugh and email him at david.haugh@entercom.com.
