Lost Along The Lakefront
Lost Along The Lakefront
October Sober
October 4, 2020
Colts 19, Bears 11
Home Alone
Soldier Field never looked so empty. And maybe the Bears preferred it that way.
Playing in front of 60,000 buttless blue seats and wearing lovely orange jerseys, the Chicago Bears looked all shades of yellow on Sunday, falling to the Indianapolis Colts, 19-11.
We’re not sure how many NFL games have ever ended in a 19-11 score but we’d bet this was the ugliest. At least when looked at through Chicago lenses.
The Bears, who invented football, ran for 28 yards in this game. Not on one play, not in quarter, not in a sprint to the toilet at halftime, but in the whole fricking game. When you rush for less than thirty yards you don’t even deserve a ride home, much less a victory in the NFL.
The Bears don’t have any great running backs. Fine. But their offensive line—which had been better this year—got punched in the grizzlies by a very tough Colts defense. And the Bears’ passing game, um, doesn’t really exist, not even with head coach Matt Nagy’s favorite fella, Nick Foles, taking over at quarterback for Mitch Trubisky.
Don’t fear, though, the Bears defense will come through with a big play! No it won’t. This ain’t 2018. Khalil Mack had an interception. He dropped it. Roquan Smith also picked off a pass from Colts quarterback Philip Rivers who joined Indianapolis this year after playing 62 years for the Chargers, but nope, Roquan stepped out of bounds.
Special teams? The Bears had a punt blocked on their first series of the game. OK, it was tipped. Big diff.
We didn’t know much about the Colts before this game and we learned that they’re probably not great, but their defense is good enough.
We did know a lot about the Bears before this game and we learned even more today which is that they are not good. They were 3-1 coming into this contest because they played three teams who smell like poop and play like goop. Yes, the Bears showed heart in those September showdowns and deserve credit for making big plays at the end but there is little, if anything, to make us think that the team that won three games before the leaves started falling will win three more before Santa comes to town.
Afterwards, Nagy said the Bears now have to “pick up the pieces.” We believe they will. But what can they put together when they do? --TK
Sunday, October 4, 2020