Right before the 2020 season, I wrote an article about how Ryan Pace had mortgaged the Bears’ future foolishly, chasing a contention window that had already closed. The sentences that ended that piece: “The 2020 Bears should be a pretty good team. Fans would be wise to enjoy that, because 2021 and beyond don’t look as though they’ll be quite as much fun.”
Five years later, I wish I had been wrong, and I suppose I was wrong about 2020. That vintage went 8-8 and was not particularly good. But the four seasons since have been downright miserable.