Coach Matt Nagy was stomping off the field after the Bears’ 35-16 loss to the rival Packers on Sunday when he found out that the longest, strangest year in Bears history wasn’t over quite yet. The Rams had beaten the Cardinals 18-7 minutes earlier, cementing the Bears’ trip to the playoffs.
Nagy, who was told by a media-relations staffer, relayed the news in the Soldier Field home locker room after the game. Player reaction — and that of Nagy — was appropriately conflicted.
The Bears had just lost their biggest game of the season, but, in terms of the playoffs, it didn’t much matter — they would have been the seventh seed, it turned out, win or lose. The only difference: Because they lost to the Packers — who clinched the top seed — the Bears will travel to face the second-seeded Saints at 3:40 p.m. Sunday.
“I apologize if I’m not all balloons everywhere,” Nagy said. “But [Monday], it’s going to be energetic.”
The locker room had a ‘‘weird feeling,” quarterback Mitch Trubisky said.
“Obviously disappointed from the game,” he said, “but finding out the news that we got in . . .
‘‘Everyone is 0-0, and we’ve got a good opportunity this week. And we’re grateful for that opportunity.”
Safety Eddie Jackson was less apologetic about sneaking into the playoffs with the seventh seed, which the NFL added this season.
“I don’t care how we got there,” he said. “We’re in. That’s the marvel of it. All these records are at 0-0.”
The Bears will take that exchange rate, happily. At 8-8, they have the second-worst record of any playoff team. They have fewer victories against winning teams than the 2-14 Jets. They lost six in a row at one point.
Their reward for sneaking into the playoffs: a matchup against another future Hall of Fame quarterback, Drew Brees, in what might be his final season. Brees has thrown six touchdown passes and three interceptions since returning three weeks ago from multiple broken ribs.
The 12-4, Saints, who earned the No. 2 seed by beating the Panthers 33-7, enter the postseason under a cloud of uncertainty, though.
Star running back Alvin Kamara tested positive for the coronavirus Friday, according to ESPN. It’s unclear if he’ll return for their first playoff game. Three Saints running backs and their position coach were put on the NFL’s reserve/COVID-19 list as close contacts of Kamara and were held out of the finale. The close contacts should be able to return mid-week.
Wide receiver Michael Thomas, who last year set the NFL record for receptions in a season with 149, is scheduled to return from injured reserve after missing three games with an ankle injury.
The Saints have the third-best defense, according to Football Outsiders, which also ranks them as the NFL’s best team overall.
The Bears don’t have to look far for a scouting report: Brees led the Saints to a 26-23 victory in overtime Nov. 1 at Soldier Field. Kamara had 96 receiving yards and 67 rushing yards in the game, which went to overtime when Cairo Santos made a 51-yard field goal with 13 seconds to play in regulation.
Trubisky played only one snap: a run in a Wildcat formation. He injured his right shoulder on the play, and it cost him most of the month.
“As far as with our defense, I think they’re going to be excited to be able to get an opportunity to play the Saints again,” Nagy said. “We battled those guys, went into overtime, weren’t able to pull it out.”
The Bears succeeded in hanging on for dear life for only three quarters before crumbling against the Packers. Down five with about 11 minutes to play, the Bears went for it on fourth-and-one for the third time in the drive. Trubisky, whom the Bears kept on a tight leash all game, rolled out and threw incomplete to Allen Robinson.
The Packers bludgeoned the Bears for the next 7:35, traveling 76 yards on 12 plays and scoring on Aaron Jones’ four-yard run. Trubisky threw an interception two plays later, and the Packers eventually turned that into another touchdown: a six-yard pass from Aaron Rodgers to wide receiver Davante Adams.
Rodgers, the presumptive NFL MVP, completed 19 of 24 passes for 240 yards and four touchdowns. He dominated the first half, completing all 10 passes for 155 yards, three touchdowns and a perfect 158.3 passer rating.
Down 21-10, the Bears, uncharacteristically, played some of their best football in the third quarter. They played keep-away from Rodgers, holding the ball for 11:16 in the quarter, but only outscored the Packers 3-0. Nagy decided to kick a field goal on fourth-and-goal from the 2.
He also kicked on fourth-and-two from the 12 and, with the clock expiring in the first half, second-and-goal from the 9.
“You can’t play the Green Bay Packers and Aaron Rodgers and kick field goals,” Nagy said.
The same is true for Brees. But at least the Bears get to find that out in person.
“For us to get in,” Jackson said, “we were blessed by the football gods.”
