Bears started awful and their comeback fell short. This season now OFFICIALLY becomes about next season. Rapid. Fire.

• Robbie Gould didn’t miss the game-tying field goal because of the conditions. He missed the game-tying field goal because he pushed the ball right. And Robbie – being a scratch golfer – knows what’s going on. He has the yips. The question is how long do the Bears wait to see if he comes out of them.
• And no, this game isn’t on Robbie. But that’s the less important note. Bears now have a serious question mark at a position they didn’t expect.
• Jay Cutler is terrific. With his receiving corps decimated and offensive line no-showing Sunday, he kept his team alive and gave them a chance to win. Love to see Jay play with some healthy receivers.
• Shea McClellin was horrendous. He was in position to make multiple plays and allowed backs to run over him. Bears need to address this position on day one of the draft.
• Kyle Long. Sheesh. Give you a pass, buddy, but you don’t get many.

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• The loss to the 49ers was flat out Trestmanesque and absolutely unacceptable. I’m not mad because they lost. I’m mad because their performance, regardless of the outcome, was not acceptable. Coming off of a big win with extra time to rest and prepare against a bad West Coast team playing a noon game, there was absolutely no reason for that game to have even been close, much less a loss. As much credit as we all gave John Fox after the win over the Packers, he deserves a ton of blame for this loss. He didn’t have his team focused and ready to go.

• I get that Robbie Gould is the whipping boy. He has to make that kick, but I  also don’t really care that he missed it. They didn’t deserve to win. That said, I don’t put 100 percent of the blame for the miss on Gould. Look at the last two attempts, both of the snaps were awful (more on that later). So, lining up for a game-winner he’s thinking about where the snap is going to be and if Pat O’Donnell can even get it down for him to kick it in addition to doing his job. He still has to make the kick and that’s no excuse, but he didn’t lose the game. They were asking him to win one that they really had no business winning.

• Gould certainly isn’t as much to blame for the loss as Adrian Amos. Nobody cares if he thought Gabbert was going to slide, hit him anyway. A penalty there doesn’t lose the game. Then, in overtime, everybody else on the defense knew what the 49ers were doing, what was Amos thinking? He’s been awesome this year, but that was a horrendous game.

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There are four games remaining. And while the playoff dreams have faded there is still plenty for Bears fans to watch over this final month of games.

Chase for .500

An argument could be made there’s no difference between finishing 6-10 or 8-8, if the result means missing out on the postseason. But that argument won’t be made here.

8-8 is something. It’s a valuable season. It’s a foundation on which to build a successful program. John Fox can walk into the offseason program and say, “We won eight last year. All we have to do is win two more and we are in the tournament.” And with their schedule including the NFC East and AFC South, two more wins can be expected.

Also, winning three more games than a year ago is substantial improvement (as if that weren’t evident already). Three games are nearly 19% of an NFL season. Fans should embrace The Quest For .500.

Solidifying the Offensive Line

Three of the final four games are outside in the cold. What does that mean? It’s time to find out if the Bears have the kind of offensive line that can boss an opponent in the run game. They showed signs of doing just that against San Francisco.

Four of the five linemen are projected starters in 2016. Only right guard, currently occupied by Patrick Omameh, is possibly up for grabs. Will be interesting to see how they develop as a group down the stretch.

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Chicago Bears Schedule

THE GAME POEM

He dusts a trophy from his highest shelf each night

Reading a name no longer known

His hand moves slowly, left to right

Like brushing leaves off a tombstone of his own

THREE THOUGHTS ON THE 49ERS

• Vance McDonald is developing into a solid tight end and has more catches the last two weeks with Blaine Gabbert under center (10) than in the rest of the season combined (9). The Bears have struggled, especially early, patrolling the middle of the field. They’ll need to be aware of McDonald all afternoon.
• San Francisco is an atrocious road team. They have been outscored 176-71.
• This team is just so damn boring to watch play offense on tape. They’re a worse version of the Chiefs, with everything being thrown underneath and no faith in their pass protections. They have the players to make a few big gains (Boldin, Smith, McDonald) but there’s no consistency from them…ever. This offense is taylor made for the Bears defensive strengths.

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• The Bears should have been running into a buzz saw. The Packers seemed to right whatever was wrong with them four days earlier, the weather conditions suited them perfectly and it was a night in which they honored one of the greatest players in their franchise’s history. Shit, Ron Wolf even referred to the field they were playing on as the house that Favre built. At no point did I think the Bears were going to win until about five seconds after — waiting for a flag — Aaron Rodgers’ fourth down pass hit the ground. How sweet it is.

• This wasn’t just a win for the Bears and it wasn’t just a loss for the Packers. The times are a changin’ in the NFC North and both teams know it.

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Before this season began, in the shadows of low expectations, no one could have foreseen an evening like Thanksgiving night at Lambeau Field.

No one could have imagined a thirteen point outing from the home team just a year removed from seemingly scoring thirteen points a minute.

A second half shutout? Pipe dream.

No one could have envisioned the visiting quarterback thoroughly outplaying the man often mentioned in the same breath as a four-time Super Bowl champion.

No one could have guessed a secondary comprised of journeymen and kids would deliver heroic moment after heroic moment, refusing to break under the pressure of knowing a touchdown beats them. They shed multiple blockers. They batted down sure thing completions. They redirected routes and blanketed receivers on crucial downs. They did…everything.

(For video of the final four plays, you can VIEW THEM HERE ON YOUTUBE. The NFL, in its infinite wisdom, has disable embedding of their YouTube clips. Because why would you want to make it easy for those who love your product to consume it. My hatred of everything happening on Park Avenue grows daily.)

And perhaps most shocking, most unpredictable of all, no one would have believed that as the football season leaves Thanksgiving behind it is the fans of the Chicago Bears and not the Green Bay Packers who see their franchise’s arrow pointed decidedly up.

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Well, that was something!

• What a performance by Jay Cutler. White whale captured. He was far and away the best player on the field last night.
• Officiating debacle continues. The illegal contact on Tracy Porter gifted the Packers points. The tripping on Matt Slauson was one of the stupidest calls I’ve seen in years. Something has to be done. And soon. The experience of watching these games is being seriously hurt.
• It can’t be understated what Fox & Fangio are achieving with this defense. Look at the talent level.
• Jeremy Langford has to catch the ball. But he certainly looks far more explosive than Forte.
• Tracy Porter is going to be on this team in 2016.

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Photo screenshot from Chicago Tribune.

There’s an old maxim in the NFL repeated ad nauseum in press conferences across the league: injuries are not an excuse. In a league with a hard salary cap not allowing for depth at any position, injuries are absolutely an excuse. If the Bears were at full strength yesterday, they win. Simple as that. With Matt Forte, Alshon Jeffery, Eddie Royal, a heathy Pernell McPhee and even Antrel Rolle (see below) the Bears would now be heading to Thanksgiving at .500. This roster is not deep enough to beat good teams short-handed.

• Marquess Wilson will be a valuable part of the 2016 Bears as their fourth receiving option.
• Worst game Jay Cutler played this season and it unsurprisingly came against the league’s best defense with all his receivers hurt. And he STILL took the team down the field at the end and gave them a chance to win it.
• Cutler’s beautiful throw to Langford in the end zone is an easy touchdown for Matt Forte. Those are the kinds of plays Langford must learn to make. And he will.
• There should be no run option on the final two point conversion. It should not even be available. Not against that front.
• What was the fourth and eight call with ten minutes to go? Jeremy Langford and Martellus Bennett both looked like they had no idea where to run their routes.
• Adam Gase has done a fine job this year with the quarterback and handling the injuries. He’s done a poor job in the red zone.

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