Matt Nagy’s Bears have been in this position before. But the task truly could not be any taller.
Last season, when Chicago fell to 5-7 after a humiliating collapse to the Lions, the pending schedule proved to be a welcome reprieve. Two of the NFL’s worst teams, in the Texans and Jaguars, and a team that is never going anywhere prestigious with Kirk Cousins as the starting quarterback in the Vikings, were all that stood between the Bears and an above .500 mark and a potential playoff berth. They, of course, clocked Houston and Jacksonville, and soundly beat the Vikings in Minnesota for the third straight year.