What can the Chicago Bears learn from the NFC Wild Card games

CHICAGO, Ill. - It's okay if you want to look away, Chicago Bears fans.

The Green Bay Packers have yet another good quarterback and the Detroit Lions – yeah, those Lions – have won a playoff game with a carefully reconstructed roster. Both move on to the NFC Divisional Playoffs.

The Bears set out a quest to own the NFC North and never give it back. If there’s anything the Bears learned from last weekend, it’s simply that their quest just went from difficult to extremely difficult.

The Packers and Lions are set to win NFC North titles with good coaching, consistent quarterback play, talented skill players and opportunistic defenses. The Bears are getting to where they have those four items, but it’s not where they need to be. 

Still, there were plenty of lessons and tidbits to be learned by watching the NFL’s Wild Card round this weekend. Here’s what was on display.

The Bears have made up ground in the NFC North, but the rest of the division is making strides, too

Improving from three wins to seven, including wins over the Lions and Vikings, is progress. Just because it wasn’t a worst-to-first turnaround doesn’t mean it was a complete failure.

However, the rest of the division isn’t just waiting for the Bears to catch up.

The Lions won their first playoff game since 1991 after a two-year massive overhaul. The Packers became the first-ever No. 7 seed to win a playoff game, even after moving on from a second Hall of Fame quarterback to a first-year starter.

Oh, and Matt LaFleur has advanced the Packers to the NFC Divisional round for the fourth time in his five seasons.

It’s not going to be any easier. The Packers and Lions are set to compete for the NFC North crown in a heavyweight fight next season unless the Bears make the right moves at quarterback and offensive coordinator.

The Vikings are licking their wounds. But, if they won games with Joshua Dobbs and Nick Mullens they can win with Kirk Cousins.

Falling behind isn’t an option for Matt Eberflus in Year 3.

Cole Kmet #85 of the Chicago Bears in action against the Philadelphia Eagles at Soldier Field on December 18, 2022 in Chicago, Illinois. (Michael Reaves/Getty Images / Getty Images)

There’s no replacing top-level skill players

Jaire Alexander was a difference-maker against the Cowboys. Amon-Ra St. Brown was crucial in moving the football as the Lions’ primary receiver. Aaron Jones and David Montgomery went over 100 yards rushing to pace their respective offenses.

These players shaped their wins.

It’s why the argument for the Bears to do whatever they can to build draft capital holds pretty strong.

The Bears have their Alexander in Jaylon Johnson. They have a St. Brown in DJ Moore. They had Montgomery, literally, to pace the run game.

Some of these players were difference makers and were acquired through free agency, but most were drafted and developed.

The Bears are following that exact example with Tyrique Stevenson, Gervon Dexter Sr., Darnell Wright and Roschon Johnson. Going further, they also exist in Cole Kmet and Kyler Gordon. But, those rookies need to take the next step from good players to cornerstone pieces.

Not every player will be a cornerstone piece that holds up franchise, but it’s at the point where the Bears need more players to develop into the kind of talents that can affect a playoff game.

The good news is they exist in Chicago and the Bears are in a perfect position to add more.

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Charting the Chicago Bears quarterback options after Wednesday's press conference

As the Chicago Bears embark into the offseason, the focus will have to shift to the quarterback, and heavily. Based on what GM Ryan Poles said Wednesday, there are a few potential outcomes the Bears could be looking at when it comes to their QB in 2024.

Quarterback is such an inexact science

Almost every kind of quarterback won games this past weekend.

CJ Stroud, a rookie top-five draft pick, decimated one of the NFL’s best defenses. Jordan Love, a first-round pick who bided his time in a friendly system, sliced up one of the NFL’s best secondaries. Jared Goff and Baker Mayfield, two first-overall selections in their respective NFL Drafts, played turnover-free games and won games, but not for the teams that drafted them.

It’s a reminder that the Bears need to figure out who’s playing quarterback for them next year. It’s also a reminder that the right quarterback will win the right games, no matter who it is.

This year presents the Bears with multiple options in the draft and with Justin Fields. The chance for a different look offensively is also very much an important part of this equation.

Love and Goff are experienced. Love is a first-year starter, sure, but he’s been in the league for three years and understands how to get the Packers offense to click. Goff has had three years to learn the Lions offense, too.

The right quarterback is out there. Again, now it comes down to the Bears. It’s up to Ryan Poles to find them.

Except, maybe Joe Flacco. Asking a nearly 40-year-old veteran to come off the street and pilot a playoff run isn’t the most optimal path.