How the Chicago Bears Can Salvage 2014 Season After Horrific Loss to Packers

The only thing the Chicago Bears can do to salvage the 2014 NFL season is to win out and make the playoffs, but we all know that’s not happening.

Locking down a spot in the postseason was a long shot before the Bears took the field Sunday night against the Green Bay Packers. Now, after a 55-14 loss, in the most embarrassing fashion possible, you can kiss it all goodbye.

Losing to the Packers is one thing, but to go on national television and give up a franchise-record 42 points in the first half, allowing Aaron Rodgers to lead the Packers to six touchdowns on seven possessions.

To make matters worse: Marc Trestman and his coaches had the entire bye week to prepare for this season-defining game. So, what’s next for this bunch of unlovable losers?

ESPN personality and avid Bears fan Michael Wilbon doesn’t have much faith, as evident by this great tweet:

As Trestman said after the game, “What's transpired the last three weeks is extremely disturbing."

What the Bears’ leader of men is referring to is three consecutive losses—to the Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots and now the Packers—by a combined score of 133 to 51. The following stat comes courtesy of Chicago Bears sideline reporter Zach Zaidman:

Which begs the question: Will the coaching staff even survive the season? It will be interesting to see what happens in the next few days around Halas Hall. Can general manager Phil Emery ignore how badly things have gone and essentially double down on a coaching staff that has failed oh so miserably this season? And most importantly: Will team chairman George McCaskey allow him to?

Sometimes, when a marriage is failing, a couple will make a panic move and renew their vows, thinking the rekindling of their love will somehow make it all better. That’s where Emery is at with Trestman, defensive coordinator Mel Tucker and every other coach on the roster.

Emery, with McCaskey looking over his shoulder, is going to have to take a long, hard look at his staff and decide if rolling through the rest of the season with everyone in place is best for the franchise. Making those decisions is the first step to salvaging the Bears’ season. And at the same time, McCaskey needs to look at Emery in that same manner.

Wilbon’s take on the state of the franchise is one most Bears fans likely would agree with. The Chicago Tribune conducted a poll that asked fans, “When should Marc Trestman be fired?” The results brought to you by the Tribune’s Amanda Kaschube:

The next step to salvaging the season is to bench Jay Cutler. Yes, bench Jay Cutler—the NFL’s highest-paid quarterback who has recorded 15 turnovers this season in nine games. The quarterback who has been demonized his entire career by the biggest rival the Bears have, throwing 22 interceptions in 12 games against the Packers.

Green Bay defensive end Datone Jones had some interesting comments after the game, relating to the Packers' belief in Rodgers to how Jones perceives the Bears’ belief in Cutler, via Tyler Dunne of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel:

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We believe in Aaron. That’s what separates us from the Bears. I feel like the Bears really don’t believe in [Jay] Cutler. It sucks. Guys are out there playing for themselves...That’s what we don’t have here.

"

Jones’ comments reflect what we’ve seen from the Bears week in and week out, minus a few good moments. In times of strife, Cutler is not out there rallying his teammates; he’s not that kind of guy. And he’s not ever going to be that guy. This current group of Bears players needs a leader to rally around.

So, if salvaging the season is what the Bears want to do, then taking Cutler out of the equation is something that must be considered. Even if it’s only for a week or two, sit him down and then regroup. Does the idea sound crazy? Most definitely, yes. But what else is there right now?

Sitting down the struggling quarterback for the sake of the team also will help the struggling quarterback watch things from afar, and hopefully give him a chance to re-evaluate the approach that has led to a league-leading 15 turnovers (tied with Jaguars rookie QB Blake Bortles).

The Bears must now forego the short term for the good of the long term. To those who want Cutler gone immediately, that’s not going to happen. Whether he’s a franchise quarterback is irrelevant at this stage, the Bears’ gunslinger counts $16.5 million against the salary cap if he gets cut. And that’s exactly why Cutler needs to be given some time off, before it’s too late and he completely melts down before our very eyes. 

Removing Cutler will not at all address the defensive issues that have plagued this team since the start of last season. Emery spent a lot of time and money in the offseason on fixing the defense, yet it hasn’t worked. There’s a ton of talent on the defensive side of the ball—Jared Allen, Willie Young, Lamarr Houston, Kyle Fuller, Tim Jennings—but the talent hasn’t been able to put it together.

"We have good players,” Allen said after the game. “We obviously aren’t a good team. When you get a beat-down like this, you can’t say much else. We have talent, we just need to find a way to win games."

Finding ways to “win games” is on the coaching staff. If the players aren’t put in position to make plays, no plays will be made. That’s exactly what happened Sunday night. Bears defenders weren’t even close to establishing a pass rush, as Rodgers wasn’t sacked all night. Same thing happened in coverage. Jordy Nelson was incredibly wide open on both touchdowns he scored.

The story has been the same now for a good three quarters of the season. Even with extra time to prepare, Trestman and Tucker couldn’t figure out how to slow down a Packers team that didn’t have a single punt in team’s Week 4 matchup. Trestman acknowledged it after the game: 

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We’re not a very good football team right now, obviously. We’ve descended over the last three weeks and we didn’t make any changes or any positive movement after the bye. And that starts with me.

"

Here’s what should to happen in order to salvage the season: Trestman and Tucker need to go. Cutler gets put in timeout while the other 52 players on the roster get this bad taste out of their mouths. While that scenario is entirely unrealistic, what should happen rarely is what actually happens. Emery more than likely will get rid of a few assistant coaches, giving off the appearance that real change has been made.

Real change won’t be made until the powers that be take an honest look at this team’s failures and act without fear or focus on what money will be lost by having to pay out the remaining two years on Trestman's contract along with his assistants. But you know that won’t happen with this team.

All quotes pulled from team-issued postgame transcripts unless otherwise noted.