My heart truly does go out to the fans of the Chicago Bears, including all of those I had heretofore assumed couldn’t have cared less.
Perhaps it’s because the team hasn’t exactly been a harbinger of hope. Since they found their way to the Super Bowl in 2007, they’ve only had three winning seasons and won a whopping one of four playoff games. But this year, thanks in large part to the increasingly decent performance of top draft pick Caleb Williams, they’ve gotten off to a competitive start in a strong NFC “Norris” Division–enough so that they were a showcase late window game yesterday afternoon.
And for roughly 59.417 minutes yesterday afternoon in suburban Washington, D.C. Williams and the Bears channeled some truly inspiring moments. As SPORTS ILLUSTRATED’s Gilberto Manzano wrote late yesterday:
In…two minutes, we learned plenty about Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels, the top two picks in the 2024 draft. After a slogfest that went on for three-plus quarters, the best final four minutes of the regular season to date occurred during the battle between Daniels’s Washington Commanders and Williams’s Chicago Bears.
There wasn’t much to write or talk about until Williams’s go-ahead touchdown drive … which was quickly answered by Daniels’s jaw-dropping Hail Mary game-winner to Noah Brown that gave the Commanders the 18–15 victory.
THE ATHLETIC’s Kevin Fishbain added additional context for those willing to suffer through it:
The Bears’ Hail Mary loss spotlights their many mistakes on Sunday. Chicago didn’t put together a performance worthy of much praise even if they won. The Hail Mary just made everything seem even worse.
Even if they had won and stolen one from the Commanders, we’d have a lot of questions about the coaching.
Why did the biggest play of the game, at the time, call for the ball to go into offensive lineman Doug Kramer’s hands?
After the Bears spent the bye week self-scouting their slow starts, how could the offense have such a dismal first half?
How did the team — again, off a bye — get penalized eight times for 60 yards?
As stout as the defense was in the red zone, how did it give up nearly 500 yards of offense?
(A)nd now you can throw in a huge gaffe on the Hail Mary.
Why not bring extra pressure?
Why not call a timeout to get the defense set?
What was the plan on the penultimate play, when the Commanders gained 13 yards?
How did the defense leave a receiver open behind the pile?
Yep, lots of unanswered questions, and none have to do with whether or not there was an announcer jinx.
But take heart, Bear Nation. You’re not alone in your anguish.
You could be a Baltimore Ravens fan, who are trying to figure out just how in heck they actually took a loss to the team that succeeded them in being called the Cleveland Browns. CBS SPORTS’ John Breech attempted to explain it:
The Ravens only have themselves to blame for this loss. Offensively, Lamar Jackson played well — he threw for 289 yards and two touchdowns — but he also missed several wide open receivers and the Ravens struggled on third down, going just 2 of 10. Defensively, the Ravens melted down during a second half in which Jameis Winston threw for 224 yards and three touchdowns. On special teams, Justin Tucker’s streaky season continued with a key missed field goal early in the fourth quarter. Basically, everything that could go wrong for the Ravens went wrong.
You could be a Seattle Seahawks fan, who now all of a sudden are embroiled in a true dogfight in a completely muddled NFC West. Breech:
The Seahawks got punched in the face by the Bills defense in the first half and they never really recovered. With DK Metcalf out, the offense needed a big game on the ground, but that didn’t happen. The rushing attack totaled just 32 yards with 16 of those coming on scrambles from Geno Smith. As bad as the offense was, the defense was worse. The Bills were able to move the ball at will through air and on the ground. The Seahawks are in a free fall with four losses in their past five games and based on how they’re playing, that free fall might not be ending anytime soon.
And you could be a Miami Dolphins fan, who saw up close one reason why those in the Pacific Northwest are suffering from a slightly worse case of Seasonal Affect Disorder than usual. Again, Breech:
If you want to know what it looks like when Kyler Murray takes over a game, just watch the second half of this battle in Miami. After a first half where the Cardinals scored just seven points, Murray was nearly perfect in the second half, going 18 of 22 for 228 yards. The Cardinals offense worked because Murray was getting everyone involved, including Marvin Harrison Jr. (111 yards) and Trey McBride (124 yards), who both went over 100 yards. The Cardinals are suddenly one of the hottest teams in the NFC, and this might be a dark-horse team to watch for in the playoff race as the season heads to November.
Worse yet, you could be a Jets fan, though I’m not sure anyone would eagerly admit they were. Once more, into the Breech:
It might be time for the Jets to blow everything up and start over, and they might want to start that process with their kicker. Greg Zuerlein missed a field goal and an extra point, and when you cost your team four points in a three-point loss, that’s a problem. This marks the third time this season that Zuerlein has missed at least one field goal in a game that was decided by three points or less. Of course, the Jets’ other problem is that the offense still looks like a work in progress, which isn’t something that should be an issue eight weeks into the season. If the Jets couldn’t beat New England, it’s hard to see them rebounding to get back in the playoff race.
So you see, Bears lovers? We know your pain several times over. We offer virtual hugs. But get in line when it comes to hoping for jinx-free announcers.
Courage…