Patriots show why Bears have a ways to go yet
By Cody Rivera
The Bears are progressing forward, but their loss to the Patriots on Sunday showed why they aren’t a title contender just yet.
Through six games, the Chicago Bears have proven that they are on the right path to a bright future. Before the season, they traded for Khalil Mack to solidify an already sharp defensive unit. They found their franchise quarterback, Mitchell Trubisky, in the 2017 NFL Draft.
They have good pieces around Trubisky, an always important factor on a contending football team. If they are lucky, the Bears might even be a playoff team, depending on how themselves, the Vikings and the Packers continue forward.
It other words, it’s a good time to be a Bears fan because they might be in the Super Bowl conversation very soon.
But on Sunday at Soldier Field, they played the New England Patriots, the team that has been the class of the NFL for nearly two decades, and New England showed why the Bears aren’t quite there yet, defeating them 38-31 in drop Chicago to 3-3. The Bears aren’t far off, but they aren’t going to be raising the Lombardi Trophy in Atlanta in Feb. 2019.
Despite having one of the premier defenses in the league, the Bears still allowed Tom Brady and the Patriots to put up 38 points in the game. This isn’t exactly a knock on Chicago, because any offense with Brady at the helm is going to be dangerous, and this is the fourth consecutive game in which the Patriots have scored at least 38 points.
But at the same time, the Bears aren’t going to win many games when they allow that many points. Even against the better offenses in the league, they have to find ways to keep them contained.
On the offensive side of the ball, the Patriots made Trubisky’s afternoon a rough one. The second-year quarterback threw a pair of touchdowns, but he also added a pair of interceptions to go with it, and he only completed slightly over half of his passes.
Next. Mitchell Trubisky shows he still has a lot to learn. dark
Despite this, the Bears were never out of the game. On the final play, Trubisky successfully completed a Hail Mary pass to Kevin White, but the New England defenders swarmed White only a yard or two short of the end zone as time expired. Had he gotten in, it would’ve tied the game and the Bears would’ve had a puncher’s chance in overtime. Close, but no cigar.
Sunday’s game against the Patriots basically reinforced what we already knew about the 2018 Chicago Bears. They are a good team, and in a few years they might be a great team.
But that year is not this year.