The real Bears show up in an embarrassing playoff loss to the Saints

The rebirth of the offense and quarterback Mitch Trubisky was a mirage.

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Matt Nagy walks away from receiver Anthony Miller after he was ejected from the Bears’ playoff loss in January.

The Bears’ Anthony Miller talks with coach Matt Nagy after the receiver was ejected from Sunday’s playoff game against the Saints.

Chris Graythen/Getty Images

The Double Doink game was excruciating.

This one was embarrassing.

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The Bears showed up for their first playoff game since Cody Parkey’s infamous missed field goal two years ago and humiliated themselves. They had a receiver drop a sure touchdown pass Sunday. They had another receiver get tossed for unsportsmanlike conduct. They had no offense to speak of, or at least to speak kindly of.

They lost 21-9 to the Saints in a wild-card game of which they shouldn’t have been a part. They didn’t belong. If you’re a Bears fan, you might not like what New Orleans did to your team Sunday. But you can thank the Saints for putting you out of the misery and make believe of this season.

Sunday’s game ended in the most Bears way possible, with Mitch Trubisky throwing a garbage-time touchdown to Jimmy Graham. No time left. Perfect.

But the charade is over now, and that’s a good thing. We won’t have to hear about Trubisky’s late-season rebirth, the one against all those bad defenses. He came back to earth against the Packers last week and the Saints on Sunday.

We won’t have to hear about the improvement of the Bears’ play calling, not when a third-and-2 is called for Ryan Nall, who had carried the ball three times during the regular season. Spoiler alert if you taped the game: He didn’t get the first down. Suggestion if you did tape the game: PBS has some very educational shows.

Here’s hoping we don’t have to hear about the Bears’ wonderful “culture’’ anymore. Wide receiver Anthony Miller got kicked out of the game in the third quarter for getting into it with Chauncey Gardner-Johnson. This followed Javon Wims’ two-game suspension for twice punching Gardner-Johnson in Week 8.

In the first quarter Sunday, Wims dropped what would have been a 40-yard touchdown pass off a trick play. But “dropped’’ doesn’t do it justice. The ball slipped through his hands and arms as if it were water.

These are the Bears. Put them against bad to middling teams, and you can write loads of odes. Put them against good teams, and you’re writing cold truths. You’re writing obituaries.

But there is some good news. By losing to the Saints, the Bears avoided getting embarrassed by the Packers for a third time this season.

I figured the Bears were going to lose by double digits Sunday. I didn’t envision them scoring in single digits. I thought they’d stick to the format that had pumped up their numbers the previous six weeks: Hand the ball to David Montgomery and use play action to give Trubisky room to throw.

Montgomery rushed for 31 yards on 12 carries.

Of Trubisky’s 199 passing yards, 92 came on the final drive, when the game was all but over.

The Bears were one of 10 on third down.

A trip to the playoffs, thanks to a Cardinals loss last week and the NFL’s expanded postseason, likely means Nagy and general manager Ryan Pace will be back next season. I won’t be surprised if Trubisky is back, as well. The Bears like Mitch. They don’t like change.

After the game, Trubisky said he could see himself with the Bears in 2021. That’s probably all Pace and chairman George McCaskey needed to hear. Do they know he can’t win difficult games for them? Trust me, whichever way they answer is bad.

Everybody who meets Nagy likes him. The problem is that the NFL isn’t about likability. You heard CBS’ Jim Nantz and Tony Romo gushing about the coach in the waning minutes of Sunday’s game. They didn’t talk about how poorly Nagy’s team performed against quality opponents this season. They didn’t talk about the silly penalties the Bears had Sunday or Miller’s foolish behavior, all of which reflect on Nagy. They didn’t talk about eight losses in the Bears’ final 11 games.

Nantz and Romo were also complimentary of Trubisky. I don’t mean to jump on them. They sounded like a lot of the other broadcasters who called Bears games this season. They followed the script. Nagy good. Mitch improved.

Even if it doesn’t fit reality.

The Bears finished 8-9. That’s reality.

If there is change in the next several days, don’t be surprised if a goat or two is sacrificed to satisfy the public outcry about this franchise. Defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano? A position coach? The person in charge of the air-raid siren at Soldier Field?

“Wherever there’s a weakness, we’ll make it a strength,’’ Nagy said.

Hmmm. During a meeting last week, the Bears took time to talk about staying disciplined against the Saints, the way Wims did not earlier in the season. It fell on plugged ears, with Miller dumbing himself down and getting penalized for it. We know what it says about Miller, but what does it say about the leadership of the team? After the game, Nagy talked about learning from these things going forward. Wasn’t the team supposed to be sufficiently educated already?

Interesting culture over there at Halas Hall.

Nagy said last week that nobody could take away his team’s trip to the playoffs. Fine. Likewise, he’s not allowed to give away a bad playoff loss. Fair is fair.  


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