Lessons Bears can learn from NFL’s final 4 teams

For the 12th time in 13 years, the Bears are spending championship weekend on the couch. Here’s what they can learn from the four teams — the AFC’s Titans and Chiefs and the NFC’s 49ers and Packers — set to play for Super Bowl berths Sunday:

TITANS— USE YOUR BULLPEN

The Titans benched quarterback Marcus Mariota, the No. 2 overall pick in 2015, midway through a 16-0 loss in Denver that dropped their record to 2-4. His replacement, Ryan Tannehill, has won nine of 12 starts since.

The Titans found a creative way to trade for Tannehill last offseason — the Dolphins sent him and a sixth-round pick to the Titans for a fourth- and seventh-rounder, and then the Titans reworked his contract. Tannehill, who now has 100 career starts, was the perfect backup for a tenuous starter. And because they had options, the Titans weren’t afraid to make a change.

The Bears need to find their own Tannehill to pair with Mitch Trubisky, another No. 2 pick, this offseason — someone who has made more career starts than the five that Chase Daniel, the backup the last two seasons, can boast.

Consider: At the time he was benched, Mariota was 94-for-159 for 1,203 yards, seven touchdowns, two interceptions and a 92.3 passer rating. Through the Bears’ first six weeks, Trubisky was 103-for-160 for 839 yards, five touchdowns, two interceptions and an 82.8 rating.

If Trubisky does it again, the Bears need someone in line to take his place.

Relying on a backup isn’t typically good business. The Titans were the only one of 12 playoff teams to enter the postseason with a different starting quarterback than they had in Week 1. But they proved that making a switch — provided the team has the right guy in the bullpen — can save a spiraling season.

CHIEFS— FIND A TIGHT END

It’s only slightly easier to find a Travis Kelce than it is a Patrick Mahomes. But the Bears — who whiffed on the latter — need to do their best to find the former. Or even a very poor man’s version.

Kelce, the Chiefs’ star tight end, played maybe the most meaningful game of his career Sunday, catching 10 passes for 134 yards and three touchdowns in the come-from-behind win against the Texans.

Combine that with his regular-season stats, and Kelce has caught 107 passes for 1,363 yards. The Bears’ entire tight end roster totaled 46 catches for 416 yards.

The tight end position is essential in Chiefs coach Andy Reid’s offense, and the same holds for coach Matt Nagy’s playbook. The Bears hope a second surgery on tight end Trey Burton — this time to his hip — will fix discomfort that limited him to five starts this season. But they can’t count on it, particularly given the unproven roster behind him.

Look for the Bears to be aggressive in their pursuit of a pass-catching tight end, first in free agency and then, perhaps, in the draft.

PACKERS—SACKS FROM BOTH SIDES

Pricey offseason moves were wildly out of character for a franchise that usually prefers to pay its own players. But the Packers’ signing of two outside linebackers — the Ravens’ Za’Darius Smith and the Redskins’ Preston Smith — for a combined $118 million has proved to be a home run.

Za’Darius Smith was sixth in the regular season with 13½ sacks, while Preston Smith was eighth with 12.

The “Smith Brothers” — no relation — provide a punch that the Bears can’t match, even with Khalil Mack carrying the sport’s largest defensive contract. The Smiths bring pressure from both edges, while the Bears have spent two years searching for a pass-rushing playmaker opposite Mack.

The team complained all season that Mack saw double- and triple-teams in every game. One way to stop that is to produce a pass-rushing threat from the other outside linebacker position.

Leonard Floyd, the team’s other starter, has totaled seven sacks in 32 starts over the last two years. The Bears value his run-stuffing and pass coverage skills. As he enters the final year of his rookie deal, though, the Bears must find a pass rusher — even one who can play just on passing downs — to complement Mack.

49ERS — BUILD THE LINE

All three of the 49ers’ running backs — Tevin Coleman, Raheem Mostert and Matt Breida — posted between 123 and 137 regular-season carries. Each finished averaging between 38 and 48 rushing yards per game in a 49ers running game that trailed only the historically dominant Ravens.

It didn’t matter who was running the ball. The reason was the men who were blocking for them. Three of the 49ers’ five starting offensive linemen in their playoff win against the Vikings were first-round picks: right tackle Mike McGlinchey (No. 9 overall), left tackle Joe Staley (No. 28) and left guard Laken Tomlinson (No. 28), a Lane Tech graduate.

With Kyle Long retiring, the Bears are entering the season without a first-round pick slated to start on the offensive line for the first time since 2002.

The Bears have brought in a new coordinator and offensive line coach with hopes of reviving the running game.

With three players having signed extensions over the last 2œ years and another, guard James Daniels, two years removed from being a second-round pick, the Bears’ line likely can’t be overhauled. The team should explore adding some new blood, though — even if it’s not a first-round player.