Chicago Bears interim coach Thomas Brown and his players returned to Halas Hall on Monday from a weekend off to prepare for Sunday’s season finale against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field.
As the Bears get ready for one more chance to break their now-10-game losing streak before the end of the season, here are three things we learned.
1. Bears starters, including Caleb Williams, will play in the season finale against the Packers.
Interim coach Thomas Brown dismissed the idea that there’s nothing at stake in Week 18 for the Bears, who were eliminated from playoff contention long ago. For Brown, “competing and winning a football game” are high enough stakes to have all of his healthy starters — including quarterback Caleb Williams — play at Lambeau Field.
Brown said he and general manager Ryan Poles hadn’t discussed the idea of sitting Williams in the finale. He believes there’s still more to gain for Williams as he tries to grow into his “best self,” noting specifically the need for Williams and the Bears to find better ways to protect the quarterback. Williams was sacked seven times Thursday against the Seattle Seahawks.
“There’s an opportunity,” Brown said. “And I take that very seriously because opportunities aren’t guaranteed. And one thing I hate more than anything is wasting time. When time is gone, you don’t get it back. So I want to maximize every moment I have, and it’ll be the same thought process as far as this team and this game on Sunday.”
Tracking Caleb Williams: How the Chicago Bears QB is performing in his rookie season
Williams, then, is expected to make the 17th start of his rookie season. Tight end Cole Kmet said he believes the experience gained in those starts will be “big” for Williams moving forward.
“As many reps as you can get early on in your career is huge,” Kmet said. “The more reps, the more looks you get in NFL games, you grow from it, you get better from it. Sure, it’s not always a steady climb up. There’s ups and downs along the way. You always kind of bank those reps that you’ve had in the past. You can use them in your experiences going forward.”
2. Thomas Brown said he can’t worry about his future after not getting the results he wanted in his interim coach opportunity.
The Bears have lost four straight games under Brown by a combined score of 108-45 since the team asked him to take over for fired coach Matt Eberflus the day after Thanksgiving.
The Bears promoted Brown to the role just a few weeks after promoting him to interim offensive coordinator from passing game coordinator when Shane Waldron was fired. While Brown didn’t get a full season to implement his philosophies on offense or the team as a whole, his name will still be attached with Eberflus’ to a franchise-record-tying losing streak of 10 games.
Brown said he is frustrated by the results but won’t get frustrated by what it means for his future. He is still confident he can reach his aspirations at some point down the line. He also tries to keep a clear perspective about the role the Bears asked him to play.
“Obviously understanding when I accepted the role, you don’t have an interim tag if everything is phenomenal,” Brown said. “There’s difficulties. There’s a reason for a change, at least in the eyes of ownership. I knew what I was walking into and didn’t flinch. Still not going to flinch, not going to back down from my opportunity to continue to grow and battle regardless of the result. The future takes care of itself by what you do every single day. So I focus more on that.”
Brown said he never would have thought last year — when he endured a midseason coaching change as the Carolina Panthers offensive coordinator — that he would have been in this position leading the Bears. So he is not focused on what’s next.
“I don’t worry about that one bit,” he said. “Whenever it’s done, when it’s over, I’ll walk away with 100% confidence as far as the approach, the growth opportunities and whatever happens next.”
3. Cole Kmet is well aware of where the Bears stack up inside the NFC North.
After Sunday’s game in Green Bay, the Bears will begin the process of closing up their locker room after another last-place season. This will be the fourth consecutive season the Bears have lost at least 10 games. And the frustration will be even sharper this January as the other three teams in the division prepare for the playoffs.
“We’ve got a long way to go,” Kmet said Monday afternoon. “That’s just being real with the situation. I don’t think that’s being negative. That’s just being honest about where things are at, where we’re at and where the division’s at.”
The Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions — both 14-2 — will fight Sunday night for NFC North supremacy. The winner will take the division, earn a first-round bye in the playoffs and clinch home-field advantage through the NFC championship. The loser will play a road game as the No. 5 seed in the wild-card round.
The Packers, meanwhile, have clinched a wild-card berth and can improve their seeding with a win over the Bears on Sunday.
Staring up — way up — from the bottom of the NFC North, Kmet recognizes that the Vikings, Lions and Packers are all high-quality opponents with proven successful head coaches in Kevin O’Connell, Dan Campbell and Matt LaFleur, respectively.
“(They have) three different styles,” Kmet said, “but all styles that have great buy-in from those players. And they’re executing at a high level. I’m sure here they’re hard at work trying to find the next head coach. And it’s obviously a tough challenge coming in here with the division we’ve got. But it’s also a great opportunity. I’m looking forward to seeing where it heads.”
