Well, Bears fans, we made it into the playoffs despite another disappointing loss to our bitter rivals, the Green Bay Packers. In the season finale, they fell 35-16 to put their 2020 season record at 8-8. Luckily, the Arizona Cardinals fell to the Los Angeles Rams, which allowed the Bears to squeeze into the playoffs with the newly added 7th spot. It is a bittersweet ending to the season, but hey, they are in the playoffs.
Their first opponents are the number two seed, the New Orleans Saints. Do the Bears have it in them to win? I don’t have a crystal ball, but I can walk through the potential the Bears have to win the game and why they could end up losing this game and ending their season.
The Bears’ offense that the Saints will be facing is a different offense than the one they played in week eight. One big difference is that QB Mitch Trubisky will be under center and not QB Nick Foles. Trubisky has gotten this offense humming to a different tune. The Bears have gone 3-2 and scored 30 plus points in four of the last five games.
RB David Montgomery has eclipsed 100 total yards in every one of these last five games; he has truly become an every-down back and a top-five RB. This running game has allowed the Bears’ offense to be more balanced and helped get the best out of Trubisky. This offense can now help match the defense on the field and relieve the pressure to pitch shutouts. With the offense playing at this high level, the Bears’ chances to pull off an upset this weekend goes up.
The Bears are 1-6 against teams with winning records. And yes, the Saints have a winning record (12-4) in the regular season. The Bears play great against teams they are supposed to beat but as soon as they go up against a better team, the Bears make mistake after mistake and get penalty after penalty. This all comes down to coaching and preparation and I have zero faith in head coach Matt Nagy. He’s shown all season how quickly he gets into his own head and how stubborn he can be when it comes to making corrections. I don’t think he will suddenly figure out how to get his team prepared for a big game.
The Bears are in, and I think the Bears will keep it close. I’m hoping to see the maximum effort, but I’m not holding my breath either. I have zero confidence in this coaching staff that led through a six-game losing streak. There are teams with bad records that can catch the other teams off guard. In 2010, the Seattle Seahawks were 7-9 but made the playoffs and beat their first-round opponent the New Orleans Saints.
The Bears are a much better overall team than that Seahawks team, but the Bears don’t have Pete Carrol. If Nagy can win this game, he will regain a lot of credit from fans, which would be the start of this victory. The Saints have a great defense, but even a Foles-led offense in week eight was able to push across 23 points. Although, that game was played in Chicago and this weekend’s game will be played in New Orleans, where the Saints thrive. The Saints are 10 point favorites. The Bears will cover, but my overall prediction is the Saints win 24-20 and end the Bears 2020-21 season.