There were occasional bright spots for the Bears, but in the end their 26-23 overtime loss to the Saints on Sunday was deflating.
As they’ve dropped from 5-1 to 5-3, their historical chances of making the playoffs have fallen from 83% to 64%. A loss to the Titans next week would plunge them to a 47% shot based the last three decades.
That’s sobering, even for irrepressible optimistic Matt Nagy. There’s a lot for him to sort through after the loss, but here are three key takeaways:
Clutch kicks. For all the kicker trouble the Bears have had since cutting Robbie Gould and the questions swirling around their plan for this season, Cairo Santos has given them tremendous stability.