Bears Lose Any Remaining Playoff Hopes with Loss to Lions

The Chicago Bears' playoff hopes were hanging by a thread heading into Week 13. 

And after their disappointing home loss to the Detroit Lions, Matt Nagy's side now has few—if any—positives to cling to for the 2020 NFL season. 

By blowing a 10-point lead in the final two minutes and 18 seconds on Sunday, the Bears dropped to 10th place in the NFC standings. They are in the middle of a six-game losing streak, with the last three defeats coming against NFC North opposition. 

If Chicago continues to struggle against teams on the ascendancy in the playoff hunt, it could finish in last place in the NFC North after starting 5-1. 

Bears Face Uphill Battle to Playoffs After 4th-Quarter Collapse

Nam Y. Huh/Associated Press

Even in a NFC wild-card race in which the Bears are one game out, they seem so far away from the postseason fight. 

Chicago was six minutes away from bouncing back to a .500 record before it fell apart in the final stretch of the game. 

The Bears started a drive at their own 46-yard-line and were forced to punt after three plays. Detroit responded with a touchdown to cut the lead to three. 

Three plays after that score, quarterback Mitchell Trubisky lost a fumble deep in his own territory. The Lions again answered and took the lead for good. 

Sunday may have been the last chance for the Bears to gain any goodwill in the playoff hunt. A win would have leveled them with the Vikings at 6-6 with a Week 15 clash looming. The best Chicago can do now is split the season series with Minnesota and lose out on the divisional-record tiebreaker. 

The Bears possess a 1-3 NFC North mark and a 5-5 conference record. They are at a disadvantage compared to the other wild-card contenders since two of their final four opponents are from the AFC South. 

Wins over the Houston Texans and Jacksonville Jaguars won't do much to help the Bears in the NFC tiebreakers. Those potential victories would not prove much about the Bears' postseason candidacy, either, since they are expected to beat both struggling sides.

If the Bears lose to the Vikings and Green Bay Packers, which they did in the first matchups with those sides, they could be further down the standings by the time the regular season concludes. 

Mitchell Trubisky Unable to Prove Himself in Key Game

Nam Y. Huh/Associated Press

Trubisky's final stat line may suggest he played well, but he simply wasn't good enough when it mattered most. 

The Bears quarterback went 26-of-34 for 267 passing yards and a touchdown, but he led the team on a single scoring drive in the second half and lost a key fumble in the fourth quarter. 

The 26-year-old's inability to close out the game cost Chicago any chance to gain momentum for a late push for a wild-card berth.

In the last two weeks, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2017 NFL draft has turned the ball over on four occasions. He had two interceptions and a fumble against the Green Bay Packers.

During the two-week window, Trubisky has not done much to convince the coaching staff he is the long-term answer at the position. He had a chance to change that perception when Nick Foles was injured. 

The North Carolina product could finish the season by putting up decent passing totals, but his propensity for turnovers and inability to turn in a complete four-quarter performance have doomed any hope of improvement. 

David Montgomery's Resurgence Continues

Nam Y. Huh/Associated Press

It's hard to associate anything about the Bears with the word "positive" at the moment, but David Montgomery's production over the last few weeks has been a welcome sight for the Chicago offense. 

The second-year running back was responsible for 72 yards and two touchdowns on Sunday. The performance came after a 103-yard outing against the Packers. 

The two-game stretch is the best of Montgomery's season. He had fewer than 50 rushing yards in five of his first nine games. 

Since the Iowa State product is running with confidence and Trubisky is still struggling in parts of the game, the Bears may have to feed their tailback more in the coming weeks to produce victories. 

If Montgomery takes advantage of Houston and Jacksonville's poor defenses and learns from his first meetings with Minnesota and Green Bay, he may have one of the best closing stretches of any running back in the NFL. 

But the increased production could come with more attention, especially if the 23-year-old is viewed as the top offensive threat with Trubisky dealing with inconsistencies. 

If Montgomery plays well in the next four games, the Bears will know they have at least one foundational piece on offense to build around for the future. 

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.

Statistics obtained from ESPN.com.