Bears face several critical decisions over final 5 games of 2023 season

The final five games of the Chicago Bears’ 2023 season are upon us. And while Bears fans would love to welcome the holiday season with cheer and goodwill, the reality is the next month or so will be filled with anxiety and stress.

Is Justin Fields the quarterback of the future?

Will Matt Eberflus return in 2024?

Can the Carolina Panthers lose enough games for the Chicago Bears to have the No. 1 overall pick?

And if the Bears secure that pick, should they select Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, or Marvin Harrison Jr.?

None of these questions are easy to answer. There are arguments for and against any side you take. If you’re a Justin Fields fan, you can highlight his lack of a supporting cast (until this season) and poor playcalling as hindering his development. Fields has flashed MVP playmaking, and with another season or two of development, maybe he’ll become one.

Sound arguments, indeed.

But the anti-Fields camp will say that it shouldn’t take this long for a franchise quarterback to break out. If Fields is the guy, shouldn’t we see more consistency from him? Shouldn’t the Bears be able to finish games? If Fields was the guy, we wouldn’t be having this debate, the fanbase wouldn’t be so fractured. When there’s debate (or even doubt), perhaps it’s time to acknowledge he isn’t the guy.

The Chicago Bears will be OK regardless of the outcome of the Fields situation. It’s a great NFL Draft year to need a quarterback. At worst, it appears the Bears will pick second overall. With two bonafide franchise quarterback prospects, one will call Chicago home … if Fields doesn’t slam the door on this debate over the next five games.

Is it unfair for Fields to constantly be in a state of having to prove himself? Sure. What side of this debate am I on? I’m a pro-Fields guy, but at the same time, I don’t want Chicago to pass on a franchise quarterback if they’re in a position to draft one. I don’t know if Fields will ever develop into the quarterback I thought he’d be, Williams and Maye’s ceilings might be higher.

It is what it is.

Can the Panthers seal the deal for the Bears?

The Panthers’ first-round pick is the biggest stressor Bears fans will face as the season winds down. It felt very much like Carolina was a lock to gift the Bears the first overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, but there’s something about the New England Patriots that has me worried. They’re horrendous. There’s nothing about that team that gives you confidence they can win another game, even this Thursday night’s matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers, who’ll be led by Mitch Trubisky.

Maybe Trubisky can do Bears fans a solid like Lovie Smith did last year. Maybe he’ll have a classic Mitch performance and make a costly mistake or two that gifts the Patriots a third win. If the Panthers can build a two-game cushion for the top pick? Yeah, that’ll seem insurmountable.

And the Twitter debate about Caleb Williams vs. Justin Fields will be insufferable.

It’s Matt Eberflus’ job to lose, right?

There’s also that old ball coach, Matt Eberflus. I like the guy, I like his personality. Some media members find his press conferences hard to watch, but I think he’s an old-school football guy who does a lot better in the locker room, in front of his players, than he does with fire-breathing Chicago media members. And that’s OK. It doesn’t matter what the Chicago Tribune or Sun-Times thinks of him. All that matters is whether the players keep playing hard, and so far, they have.

The Bears have been a competitive team this season. If it wasn’t for a horrendous 0-4 start, they’d absolutely be in the hunt for the playoffs, and they’d deserve to be. The Chicago Bears are 4-4 over their last eight games, and if they finished off the Lions (the way they should’ve) in Week 11, they’d be 5-3 over that stretch. Let that sink in.

I think the Bears’ decision-makers (Kevin Warren and Ryan Poles) see improvement. They see a team that hasn’t given up. Instead, it’s a team that seems to be growing in its belief that they are better than their record. That’s a credit to the head coach, even if he hasn’t been perfect at his job.

There’s no doubt Eberflus has to make changes to his staff if he sticks around. Offensive coordinator Luke Getsy is an abomination. He has to go. We’ll see if Eberflus has the mental makeup to cut ties with Getsy, it’s a tough decision with human emotions involved, but the best head coaches can separate business from personal. For Eberflus to grow as a head coach, he has to make that difficult decision.

We’re at the point in the NFL season when speculation reigns supreme, especially with head coaches, quarterbacks, and first-round picks for non-playoff teams. That’s where the Chicago Bears are right now, even if a few “in the hunt” graphics keep hope alive.

We’ll have all of these questions answered in a few weeks time. Until then, Bears fans, hang on tight. It’ll be a bumpy ride.

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