For most of the 3 hours I spent watching the game Sunday, I was merely waiting around for Mitch to shit the bed. And it took almost the whole game, but he finally came through. With a 3-point lead in the final 2 minutes, he fumbled inside our own 10 yard-line. Those of you still holding out for something other than a better draft position probably enjoyed most of the game, as we led for 56 minutes, but then you had your hearts ripped out, like that chef in “Dumb and Dumber.” Meanwhile, savvy fans who’ve accepted that we’re now Playing For The Draft (PFTD) also enjoyed the game because the Bears never took a lead so big that we couldn’t blow it, and then we managed to blow it. Sure, it’s now been 50 days since our last win, but in dropping our 6th in a row, we moved up at least 2 spots in next year’s draft. And those of us on team PTFD still have our hearts intact.
Detroit may have won the war, but we won this battle:
K-Mack asks Stafford, “How you like THESE apples?!”
And to me it doesn’t look like Stafford likes those apples.
The Low Down
We ran out to an early lead, and led by 10 for almost half the game, including up until the final 3 minutes. But after the Lions cut that lead to 3 with their 4th TD against our apparently now-porous D, Mitch fumbled with 1:54 left, giving Detroit the ball at our 7. With a short field, the Lions took their only lead 2 plays later, making this the 2nd straight week that our D has allowed 5 TDs. Last week was at least understandable, with A-A-Ron Rodgers, but Detroit just fired their coach, and they were bad WITH him! So the only explanation is that the Bears absolutely suck. We did drive after getting the ball back, and would’ve had an easy FG from the Lion 20, but because we missed an earlier PAT, we trailed by 4 and needed a TD. And 5 TDs is too much to ask of any Bears team, let alone one led by Mitch.
Our D, who’ve obviously joined the PFTD movement,
celebrating after Mitch came through with the big fumble
Statistically, things were pretty even. The QB’s QBRs were separated by less than a point at halftime (104.5 – 104.0), and then for the entire 2nd half, with them finishing only 1.1 apart. Mitch finished 26/34, 267 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT, and a 108.3 QBR, while Matt Stafford was 27/42, 402 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT, and a 109.4 QBR. But the Bears were able to run much more effectively (140 – 60 yards), as well as more efficiently (4.5 – 2.7 yards/ carry). David “3 Card Monte” Montgomery, the only real bright spot on our offense, led us with 111 yards on 21 touches and 2 TD runs. He’s brought his season average up to 4.1 yards/ carry, which ties him for 30th in the NFL. That might not sound like much, but most other teams have at least SOME passing threat, along with SOME competent linemen. Let’s hope Monte doesn’t jump up to 29th too soon and hurt our draft prospects.
Apparently nobody told Monte that we’re PTFD’ing
Outlook
At 5-7, the ground has already dropped out from under our season. Last week, I said we were ranked #19, and slated to draft 14th. Technically, we were in a 4-way tie (with MIN, SF and NE) for the #17 rank, and would’ve picked between 13th and 16th, so I just rounded it off. But our PFTD plan is already working. MIN and NE won, so we “lost” ground on both of them (SF plays Monday night). And with us losing to Detroit, the Lions caught up to us. So we’re now in a 3-way tie (with SF and DET) for the #21 rank, meaning we’d draft between 12th and 14th. It’s looking like we’ve got a genuine shot at reaching the top 10, and with our red-hot losing streak, the #4 slot is still mathematically within our grasp. Here’s a PFTD breakdown:
* BAL, DAL, SF & WAS play their 12th game Monday or Tuesday
Quotes of Note
Each quote this week is from former Bear and current Comcast analyst Olin Kreutz, and each is related to Nagy calling a pass play when we were trying to run out the clock in the final minutes, which led to Mitch fumbling in the pocket…
Be honest – how many of you were actually hoping this
defender would rip Mitch’s head clean off on this play?
On the type of pass play Nagy called: “If you want to throw the ball, get (Mitch) out on the edge…Instead, you turned Trubisky into a pocket passer…He has to process information and protect the ball in the pocket. So we’re asking him to do what we know he can’t do.” ~ I mean, it sounds to me like he’s saying Mitch fucking stinks.
Nagy, to himself: “Hmmm…Detroit needs a new Coach…”
On Nagy choosing to throw the ball when Mitch is his QB: “You just run the ball 3 times…you should be bleeding the clock…If you had Aaron Rodgers or Patrick Mahomes, I’d still be questioning throwing the ball. But you don’t. (Instead), you have a guy that you benched. Twice. You didn’t even commit (publicly) to him as the starting QB this week. Now, you’re gonna put the game in HIS hands at the END of the game?” ~ If anyone still needs evidence, I’d like to submit this as Exhibit A for why Nagy should’ve already been fired.
Nagy, to Mitch: “Sure, pal. If I go to Detroit, I’ll take you with me.”
On Nagy facing postgame questions: “I don’t know what he’s going to say after this game. I don’t know how you make an excuse for what just happened against the Lions.” ~ Can we just add this to the list of things we’re blaming on Trump?
Nagy, to himself: “There’s no way I’m taking Mitch with me.”
BEAR DOWN!
#PTFD
© 2020
Bear Down Baffa 
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