What a rollercoaster of a season it was for the Chicago Bears, with upticks of hope and downward spirals of disappointment. The season couldn’t have gotten off to a better start, the Bears led the division with a 5-1 record. The offensive inconsistencies and changes at the quarterback position, however, contributed to a 6 game losing streak, putting the Bears at 5-7. They would end the season with a 8-8 record, losing in the wildcard round to the New Orleans Saints 21-9. 

This mediocre season has raised a lot of questions that need to be addressed this offseason. Let’s start with looking at the defense. Though this side is normally the focal point of the team, there were a few players who underperformed this season. 

Eddie Jackson took a huge step back in production compared to his previous seasons. Jackson had 0 interceptions and only 3 forced fumbles on the entire year. Both categories of which he normally excels in because of his great nose for the football.   

Robert Quinn was an offseason acquisition who was brought in to help take some of the weight off of Khalil Mack in the pass rush department. Quinn’s stats this season were a total let down, finishing the year with only 2 sacks and 3 forced fumbles. 

With the retirement of Bear’s defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano, it will be vitally important to fill the position with someone who will be able to utilize the pieces that are already there. 

The offense is where we will probably see the most changes through the offseason. The Bears averaged 22 points per game, but it was much worse than that. Indecisiveness at the quarterback position, between Mitch Trubisky and Nick Foles, led to poor production all season. 

Rex Ryan the former Buffalo Bills and New York Jets head coach talked about the whole situation on ESPN’s morning football show “Get Up!” He expressed, “I have no respect for Nagy and the way he handled the Trubisky situation. A head coach is supposed to take the bullets for their quarterback.” 

Ryan later mentions how Nagy was brought into Chicago with an offensive reputation and the Bears only put up 9 points in their playoff game. There were a lot of questionable play calls, which were surprising considering the previous seasons. 

Two major inquiries, will Allen Robinson be back and who will be the starting quarterback next season. Allen Robinson is a free agent, who will probably be testing the market after the Bears failed to resign him during the season. 

It’s very difficult to predict what will happen with the quarterback position in the near future. Though doubtful the Bears could resign Trubisky to a short term deal, go with Foles, or even draft one. At the end of the season press conference, Bear’s general manager Ryan Pace told the media, “Everything is on the table with the QB spot.” 

I would like to see Chicago go out this offseason and just prioritize improving the offensive side of the ball. It’s very frustrating to see the Bears waste all that talent on defense, just because they can’t find a way to score the ball. 

It’ll be very interesting to watch how the Bears approach this offseason, Ryan Pace has a lot to do. The ultimate goal is to obviously win a Super Bowl and the Bears already have the defense to do it. If they can somehow find a way to improve their offense, Chicago will have a very bright future.