Bear Digest

Seven Straight Losses Put Bears in a Place Far too Familiar

While the Bears look for ways to cope with a long losing streak and no postseason games, they'll also hope to avoid simply mailing it in when they face Minnesota Monday night.

Gene Chamberlain

Cole Kmet isn't happy with himself after dropping a two-point conversion pass Sunday, the only target he had on the day.
Cole Kmet isn't happy with himself after dropping a two-point conversion pass Sunday, the only target he had on the day. / Bob Kupbens-Imagn Images
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If you step back and look at it all, the seven-game losing steak and subsequent firing of coach Matt Eberflus almost reads like fiction.

It's surreal. The Bears had won five out of eight to close last season, seemingly turned around their fortunes and looked ahead to a 2024 when they would rise to challenge. then they went 4-2.

That's nine wins in 14 games and surely a sign the worst was well behind them.

Now they have to deal with something far too familiar to those who have been in Chicago longer. Perhaps it's why Jaylon Johnson reportedly hollered at Eberflus after they carried a timeout into the final gun with a chance to try and force overtime at Detroit.

It all led to a firing and now seven straight defeats.

How do players cope with defeat so prevalent? The team isn't going to bring in a guest positive speaker like the fictional New York Knights did in the baseball movie "The Natural."

"Losing is a disease," the speaker says, as the Knights drift off to sleep or stare off in the distance.

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Cole Kmet has been with the Bears since the 2020 draft and has gone through losing streaks of 5, 6, 7 and 14 games. Players find ways to cope.

"I thought I had a good talk with my dad the other day about perspectives moving forward," Kmet said. "At this point, he had a great thing that he said to me. It's like as dark as this might seem in the moment right now, you’ve got to have perspective as to what you get to do.

"He was saying he’d given anything to go back and just to play one more game, to be in the shape that I’m in right now and to go out and play football. I think that's kind of the perspective that I want to have going forward for these last four and just enjoy being out there with the guys, put some really good stuff out on tape and just enjoy each other’s company while we go do it. That’s kind of where we’re at at this point. But overall, yeah, this process, it’s been tough. It takes a toll on you mentally and you definitely question things about yourself. You’ve got to fight those things."

Safety Jonathan Owens doubts the Bears will simply quit playing over the final four games.

"Cause we're so close," he said. "Everybody is so close, man. You are out there playing for your brother, playing for pride regardless of the situation, the scoreboard, our record. No one is going out there to lay an egg or you're going into a game not trying to play as hard because there is still a standard that we're all trying to uphold and just with the leaders and, you know, the vets that you have on the team like there are guys that you don't want to let down."

The Bears haven't been officially eliminated, but it takes either a Washington tie or win or a Bears tie or win.

"Like, I couldn't see myself taking plays off and then KB (Kevin Byard) is out there playing hard, you know," Owens said. "Just cause guys that you look up to, you know, your co-workers, so that's the thing man.

"Too much love in the locker room for us to even have a doubt of guys going to start splitting or you know pointing fingers, man. We (are) a close team, you know. Just a lot of those close games haven't went our way this year, so we're just going to keep fighting man. That's all we know."

Last week's wasn't one of those close games, which sparks concern they may just mail it in now. They lost six by less than a touchdown and conversion, four on the final play.

The expected talk about tanking for draft picks will come from fans. Don't expect enthusiasm about it from players. Kmet remembers all the talk about it in 2022 when they were in the middle of the 14-game losing streak.

"I hated that talk then, about the draft pick, because none of us in here are playing for draft picks," Kmet said. "Maybe that was something–that's something you’re going to have to ask management. That’s not anything the players in the locker room care about."

Twitter: BearsOnSI

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

BearDigest.com publisher Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.