It’s make-or-break time for the Bears.
A year ago, the Bears were at a typical crossroad for an upstart NFL team. Coming off a rejuvenating 12-4 playoff season, would they be the Rams — who took the next step after ending a long playoff drought and reached the Super Bowl? Or the Jaguars — who were exposed as fool’s gold and plummeted to 5-11 in 2018 after nearly beating the Patriots in the AFC Championship Game the previous season?
As it turned out, the Bears were neither the Rams nor the Jaguars. They finished right in the middle at 8-8 — closer to the Jaguars as a non-playoff team, but not exactly back to square one.