Windy City Gridiron
Last night, the Chicago Bears’ season came to an end with a disappointing 20- 17 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Rams.
While our fanbase is probably still hurting, I hope we can all reach a place of positivity at some point, because this was a magical season that should be celebrated.
There’ll be no regression, because the Bears have the quarterback and head coach in place, and that usually equals an opportunity for sustained success. The Bears will be back, and while the team will have some new faces, the core is intact, led by kindred spirits Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams.
Head coach Ben Johnson began his postgame press conference with an update on Colston Loveland, who left the game with a concussion, and then dove into his opening statement.
“Disappointing result tonight. Our guys fought the entire way just like they have all season long. I thought this was very much like our team has been, and you got to give the Rams credit. [Rams Head] Coach [Sean] McVey does a phenomenal job. [Rams defensive coordinator] Coach [Chris] Schula did a great job with their defense this week, and, you know, they ended up making a couple more plays than we did, and that’s why it ended up going into overtime, and they ended up coming out on top.”
The Rams ended the regular season as the best offense in the league, but the Bears outgained them on Sunday (417 to 340), had more first downs (23 to 22), a better time of possession (39:15 to 32:26), and were better on third downs (47.4% to 31.3%).
The Rams were better on fourth-down attempts, going 1-1 to the Bears’ 3-6; they had fewer penalties than the Bears (1-5 to 3-24); and L.A. won the turnover battle (3-0).
“Like I said, disappointing result,” Johnson continued. “Our guys are feeling it right now. They all believed, man. They all believed all year long that we could find a way to win each and every week. And so it’s disappointing like that. But I am proud of the group. You know, it’s a special group. I said that a few weeks ago. I believe that to my core that when you’re with a group of men for the last time in a locker room, and you know it’s just not going to be the same going forward, that you know I appreciate all of them. The men and the women, coaches, players, support staff, everybody. Everybody that had a role this season. It was a special year, and you know, this will be hopefully a feeling in this locker room that we won’t forget, and we’ll be able to use it as fuel going forward.”
Let’s look at the Bears’ playing time breakdowns and a few individual stats from the game.
Caleb Williams made some mistakes, but he was also hurt by drops (a recurring theme all season). He also did the impossible again with that incredible fourth-down touchdown...
