Bear Digest

What we learned about the Bears from divisional playoffs

The playoffs indicate things about the Bears even when they aren't playing and here's what we learned from the divisional round.
Gene Chamberlain|
Jalen Hurts is sacked during the second half in the snowstorm at Philadelphia.
Jalen Hurts is sacked during the second half in the snowstorm at Philadelphia. | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

 For every weekend they play in the NFL, there is something to learn about your team even if you have a bye or are done and watching USC basketball games at floor level with your hand in a wrap.

The divisional round of the NFL playoffs meant a great deal for the Bears, their future and maybe even their past.

Here's what the Bears, and their coaches of the past and future should have learned from the divisional playoffs.

1. Sin of the Past

It's almost halftime, time left for one more Eagles play, and the Rams see it's coming. That would be the Hail Mary.

What did Sean McVay do? He called a timeout after the Eagles had lined up.

What do you know?

Then, when they actually ran the play, the Rams sent a blitz. They sent one extra pass rusher, five defenders coming at Jalen Hurts and Jared Verse sacked him before the Hail Mary could even be thrown.

Imagine that.

Somewhere, for his own sake, you hope Matt Eberflus was watching.

Or, considering he keeps interviewing for defensive coordinator jobs, you hope he wasn't because at some point the Bears will probably face one of his defenses again.

2. Forget the roof

After watching the Eagles-Rams game, check that domed stadium at the old hospital, in the parking lot or at the racetrack.

Build the outdoor stadium. It's more fun watching guys getting cold and wet, drop things and slide. It's much more interesting, especially if you just sit at home and watch it on TV instead of going out in the cold.

3. Over the Kliff

Maybe, before racing off over the cliff after Ben Johnson, the Bears should slow things down a bit and wait to talk to Kliff Kingsbury.

The past relationship in the 2023 season with Caleb Williams at USC aside, Kingsbury's offense scored 38 of the 45 points against a defense that was missing many players but one that had just held the vaunted Vikings offense of Kevin O'Connell to nine points to close the regular season.

The great fear Kingsbury was somehow running a college Air-Raid offense couldn't be further from the truth. Sure, he had Jayden Daniels, but go back and watch the game film and you see Daniels completing very few passes downfield. They're mostly short passes, screens, slants mixed in with the occasional deep ball. And the idea that Daniels' running is the entire Commanders running attack was and is entirely false. Daniels had one 15-yard run and then 15 runs for 36 yards, or 2.4 yards a carry.

What Daniels did best and has all year is play smart football. He doesn't have the monopoly on this.

Maybe the Bears could use a head coach on his second go-around in the league who knows what he's doing the way Kingsbury does.

4. The GM matters

Ryan Poles could have drafted Jalen Carter, who sacked Matthew Stafford on the next-to-last play and then pressured him into an incompletion on the next play. Enough has been said about that already. But listen to more. They played a defense that depended on gap pressure up front and a tackle to create havoc. Going into Year 3 they're still hoping for Gervon Dexter to develop while Carter is a big-time star. Sure, they wouldn't have been able to draft Darnell Wright. They gave up 68 sacks with him on the line. How many more could it have been without him?

The Bears could have signed Saquon Barkley rather than D'Andre Swift if Poles went out after him and paid about $5-$6 million more for him a year than they paid to settle for D'Andre Swift. That's about what Poles spent for Gerald Everett. He was really essential this season.

Of course they could have drafted both C.J. Stroud or Daniels or, if you want to blame the other GM named Ryan, Patrick Mahomes.

Or Poles could have hired Commanders coach Dan Quinn instead of Matt Eberflus.

5. Boring is better

There are plenty of people who follow the league who would rather have a lot of quarterbacks throwing for their team besides Jared Goff.

No matter how much they don't like Goff, who threw a pick-6 and two other interceptions Saturday, they all would rather have him passing than Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams.

On behalf of all Chicagoland, if Ben Johnson is coming to be Bears coach, please leave that page of the playbook in Detroit. Be advised the Williams who passes in Chicago is Caleb.

6. Option Play

If Ben Johnson escapes the Bears' reach, no problem. There was plenty of offensive firepower on display from Joe Brady, Kliff Kingsbury, Todd Monken and Mike McCarthy's reputation precedes him. They'll survive with any of those OC types or offensive side coaches even if they can't sign Johnson.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.