December 01, 2020
Quinn Harris/USA TODAY Sports
The Bears haven't had an answer at quarterback in a long time.
Week 12 of the NFL season is in the books, and we have one new obituary. That would be the Chicago Bears, who started out hot, and then predictably cooled off. We still can't really kill off any teams in the NFC East, even though they might very well be the four worst teams in the NFC.
Since 2017, Ryan Pace and the Bears have made three big commitments to new quarterbacks, by three different methods:
• Mike Glennon, free agency: Signed for three years, $43.5 million. He ultimately earned $16 million of that for 4 starts, in which he went 1-3.
• Mitchell Trubisky, draft: Not only did the Bears infamously draft Trubisky over Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson, but they also traded up one spot in the draft to get him. They packaged the No. 3 overall pick, a 2017 third-round pick (No. 67), a 2017 fourth-round pick (No. 111) and a 2018 third-round pick (No. 70), for the No. 2 overall pick, used to draft Trubisky. He got benched for Nick Foles this year.
• Nick Foles, trade: The Bears traded a fourth-round pick for Foles. I know that Philadelphians all love Foles, but Chicagoans haven't exactly had the same experience, and they're stuck with him through the 2021 season.
The Bears have had a decent enough roster otherwise, but a lack of competency from the quarterback position has been their fatal flaw. Even in 2018, when the Bears had arguably the best defense in the NFL and a 12-4 record, they felt certain to quickly falter in the playoffs because they didn't have a legitimate QB.
These days, the defense isn't so elite anymore, and the Bears have lost five straight after a 5-1 start.
Once again, they'll be looking for a quarterback this offseason, and they'd be insane to let the same people pick the next one.
10) Eagles (3-7-1): Out of curiosity, I took at look at ESPN's "matchup predictor" to determine the Eagles' chances of winning each of the their final five games.
What?!? Have they not seen this team play? Those percentages are extremely generous, across the board.
Last week: 11 📈
9) Cowboys (3-8): The Cowboys have had 3 really bad losses the last 4 years on Thanksgiving:
• 2020: With some momentum behind them after a win in Minnesota, the Cowboys got wrecked by Antonio Gibson and the Football Team, 41-16.
• 2019: The Bills controlled the game throughout, and mocked Ezekiel Elliott and Dak Prescott as time the final seconds ticked off the clock.
Thanksgiving just isn't complete without a shots of a pissed off Jerry Jones in the owners box, and we've all been blessed of late.
Last week: 8 📉
8) Giants (4-7): Daniel Jones' hamstring injury probably isn't season-ending, but even if he's able to play Sunday against the Seahawks, it's no doubt going to affect his play, as he's at his best when he can make plays with his legs.
Anyway, for now, the Giants are atop the NFC East, on the strength of a sweep of the Football Team.
| NFC East | W | L | T | Pct. | GB |
| Giants | 4 | 7 | 0 | .364 | - |
| Football Team | 4 | 7 | 0 | .364 | - |
| Eagles | 3 | 7 | 1 | .350 | 0.5 |
| Cowboys | 3 | 8 | 0 | .273 | 1 |
And they have a three-game winning streak, which in NFC East terms is like the Oakland A's 20 game winning streak in 2002.
OK, so the Giants' wins were over the Football Team, Eagles, and Bengals, but whatever.
Last week: 9 📈
7) Football Team (4-7): Washington's defense is the best unit in the NFC East. And I mean, this is the exact type of year that this organization would win a flukey divisional title.
Last week: 10 📈
6) Buccaneers (7-5): The Bucs have lost three of four, putting the Saints in position to almost certainly to win the NFC South. For the Tom Brady haters out there, you're in luck, because for the Bucs to get to the Super Bowl (played in Tampa this year), that will likely require three road wins in the playoffs.
A first-round exit would be a just result for a bad franchise that has not been able to build a good foundational roster, and tried to buy a championship by way of a bunch of big name free agent acquisitions.
Last week: 6
5) Cardinals (6-5): Like the Bucs above, the Cardinals have lost three of four, and it would have been four straight if not for a Hail Mary against the Buffalo Bills. I thought this was interesting as a potential reasoning why, via Josh Weinfuss of ESPN:
The Patriots followed a recent trend of blitzing Murray. They threw extra pressure on Murray on 35.9% of his dropbacks, the fourth straight week Murray has been blitzed more than 35%. Miami started the run, blitzing Murray on 46.9% of his dropbacks in their win. Buffalo followed that with blitzes on 42.5%. Seattle dipped to 34%.
Overall, Murray has been blitzed an average of 39% over the past four games. In the first seven, he was blitzed 17%.
They're going to keep coming until the Cards solve it.
Last week: 5
4) Rams (7-4): Jared Goff looked bad on Sunday against the Niners. Two picks, a lost fumble, and the Rams only had 14 first downs. Sean McVay was even asked postgame whether he considered benching Goff, which led me to wonder who the Rams' backup quarterback is.
I had no idea, and I'll bet you don't know either. Here's the answer.
Last week: 4
3) Seahawks (8-3): One game down on the easiest four-game stretch I've ever seen, three to go:
Last week: 3
2) Packers (8-3): Mahomes gets all the hype because he's new and fun and whatever, but Aaron Rodgers is still ridiculously good, and is having an MVP season. 33 TDs, 4 INTs, 8.1 YPA, 117.6 QB Rating.
Rodgers could throw 34 INTs on his next 34 pass attempts, and he would still have a better passer rating than Carson Wentz.
Last week: 2
1) Saints (9-2): I love the title of this YouTube video from NFL.com. "Rookie WR Kendall Hinton Tries His Best at QB." Lol.
Anyway, what a garbage win the Saints were gifted.
Last week: 1
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