Mitchell Trubisky has a message for the Bears ahead of Sunday’s game against the Saints

The Chicago Bears quarterback says the team will play the New Orleans Saints like they have nothing to lose.

It wasn’t the most ideal way, but the Chicago Bears clinched the seventh seed in the NFC in the final week of the season. The Bears ended up losing to the rival Green Bay Packers 35-16 but earned their playoff berth after the Los Angeles Rams defeated the Arizona Cardinals 18-7. After falling nearly backwards into the postseason, the Bears now have to face the New Orleans Saints.

When asked about how the team is approaching the big Wild Card game, quarterback Mitchell Trubisky said they’ll play like they have nothing to lose.

Trubisky is right, the Bears have nothing to lose

Trubisky isn’t lying with his assessment. Nearly no one is giving the Bears a chance to advance passed the Saints for the Divisional Round. However, Trubisky said the team will “play smart and play disciplined football.”

The Bears’ season has been a rollercoaster ride. They started off their season with a 5-1 record, which included a huge upset win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Then, the team dropped back down to Earth following a six-game losing streak before rebounding with a three-game win streak.

As for Trubisky, he did overcome an early-season benching by head coach Matt Nagy in favor of Super Bowl 52 MVP Nick Foles. But after the team’s six-game skid, Trubisky returned under center and his play improved, many crediting Nagy surrendering play-calling duties to offensive coordinator Bill Lazor. In fact, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported last week that the Bears could consider bringing Trubisky back next season, as his contract expires at the end of their postseason.

This season, Trubisky has completed 67-percent of his passes for 2,055 yards, 16 touchdowns and eight interceptions.

Chicago knows that beating the Saints will be a tall task, especially considering New Orleans owns the fourth-best defense in the entire NFL (310.9 offensive yards allowed per game). While it’s tough envisioning Chicago’s 26th-ranked offense (331.4 yards/game), anything can happen in the playoffs.