Hub Arkush: Bears find new ways to disappoint in Wild Card loss to Saints

Even with all hands on deck the Chicago Bears probably were never going to beat the New Orleans Saints on Sunday.

Once it was clear Roquan Smith, Darnell Mooney and Jaylon Johnson all would be out, it was near impossible to find a path to victory for the Bears.

Javon Wims dropped an easy 40-yard touchdown toss from Mitch Trubisky in the end zone only 11 minutes into the game that your 10-year-old would have caught – one that would have tied the score at 7. The officials called a ridiculous unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Cole Kmet at the Saints’ 10-yard line nine minutes later, canceling any chance the Bears had at another game-tying score and forcing them to settle for a field goal to make it 7-3. And Anthony Miller got himself ejected for taking a swing at the Saints C.J. Gardner- Johnson only three minutes into the third quarter. With the score still 7-3, this one was over.

Forget the 21-9 final score and the final stats. Neither tells the full story of the game.

The Bears defense was both heroic and outstanding at times, and beyond disappointing at others.

Keeping this one a 14-3 game 10 minutes into the third quarter was not something anyone saw coming, but nobody predicted the five first downs on penalties they’d give the Saints either, including repeated neutral zone infractions. The sloppy tackling that has haunted them all season also was on full display all afternoon, and allowing 11-of-17 third-down conversions guaranteed they’d get beat.

The best defensive player on the field for the Bears Sunday was Tashaun Gipson, and adding to the uncertainty that now will haunt this franchise all through the offseason, he will be a free agent with a team currently projected to be $2 million over the cap when the new league year begins.

That said, the Bears did establish that there still is more than enough talent on their defense, and with the return of Eddie Goldman, they still can play at a top five or 10, playoff-capable level for at least another season.

The offense sadly is a different story.

The haters will try and put this one on Mitch Trubisky, and it will be unfair.

The Bears beleaguered quarterback did little to advance any campaign to bring him back as a free agent next year, but he made some really nice throws in the first half and quite frankly was saddled with a game plan that made little or no sense.

Nine of the Bears’ first 13 plays were passes, and they didn’t call a run on first down until four minutes into the second quarter.

The opening play of the game they called their beloved backwards pass to Miller, which hasn’t worked all season long, so who knows why they called it to open the playoffs. Allen Robinson clearly has not been himself the past two weeks, and when your next best receiver is DeAndre Carter, who was on the street five weeks ago, what might Aaron Rodgers, Patrick Mahomes or Tom Brady have done with this group?

The Bears have a huge hole at the game’s most important position, and while Mitch may not be the answer, he really isn’t the problem at this point either.

It also is worth noting that while blame for this loss lies with no one but the Bears players and coaches, the officiating was as poor as we’ve seen in any NFL game this year and it made it just that much harder to watch.

All Bears fans will be watching for now is word on the futures of Ryan Pace and Matt Nagy – both of whom I believe will be back whether it’s the right call or not – along with Trubisky and a number of free agents.

And Bears fans are left to ask themselves whether this team making the playoffs actually was a good thing or just another excuse to avoid doing what it takes to actually be good?