In actuality, the final four games of the year were a brutal extension of the year's longest losing streak, capped off by a meaningless win in Minnesota that I didn't bother going out of my way to watch. While Josh McCown proved to be definitively less disastrous than Caleb Hanie, it's too bad that the first game was in Green Bay. His dunk on the crossbar in that game is the sort of otherwise empty gesture—it came after a two-point conversion, still down by 18—that should probably best be used as the summary graphic for the quarter. Yeah, the team finished .500. But that was good for a third place finish in the division and a few games out of the playoffs.
Meanwhile, the two teams that finished ahead of the Bears only seem to be getting better. The championship window for this Bears squad has been closing for a couple years now. That Super Bowl appearance? The one they lost? That was five years ago.
I realize that this year took an unfortunate turn with injuries to arguably the two biggest stars on the team, but there's no reason that somebody deserves to be held accountable for the team not being prepared for something like this. While the Bears had weapons to run the ball with, the backup plan for Jay Cutler at quarterback was astoundingly painful. This will not be a year that Bears fans are terribly likely to recall with many fond memories.
Truth be told, I have no further thoughts at this time. The final games are not worth summarizing and the team has already made major changes by firing Jerry Angelo and parting ways with Mike Martz. Interesting off-season ahead, indeed. Another one of the Four Bs has failed to make the postseason after an enjoyable stretch of success there. Besides, I'll be doing a Final Thoughts segment on this Bears team in the not too distant future here.
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