Mitchell Trubisky, Bears Clinch 2020-21 NFL Playoff Berth with Cardinals' Loss

The Chicago Bears are going to the playoffs for the second time in three seasons.

Chicago clinched its postseason spot with the Arizona Cardinals' loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday.

Things were simple for the Bears heading into Week 17. Scenario one to qualify for the playoffs was the most straightforward and required a victory over the rival Green Bay Packers. Scenario two was also fairly straightforward with Matt Nagy's squad needing a Rams victory over the Cardinals if it lost to Green Bay.

Scenario two is the one that unfolded, capping off a roller coaster of a regular season for the NFC North team.

While Chicago made headlines during the offseason by trading for Nick Foles, it went status quo to start the year and left Mitchell Trubisky under center. He won his first two starts but struggled in Week 3 against the Atlanta Falcons and was replaced by Foles.

The former Philadelphia Eagles hero led the Bears to a dramatic comeback and appeared to be the answer at quarterback when the team started 5-1 and even defeated Tom Brady's Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The question then was could Chicago compete for the No. 1 seed in the NFC.

And then the wheels fell off.

The Bears lost six games in a row to fall to 5-7. Foles suffered an injury in the fourth game of that span against the Minnesota Vikings, giving the job back to Trubisky.

Nagy also gave up play-calling duties to offensive coordinator Bill Lazor during the losing streak.

That move ultimately paid off, as Chicago ripped off three straight wins against the Houston Texans, Vikings and Jacksonville Jaguars to create the win-and-in scenario for Week 17. While the opponents weren't great, the offense also scored 30 or more points in four straight games (including a loss to the Detroit Lions) for the first time since 1965.

Suddenly, Nagy's future looked more secure with ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reporting sources around the league think he will be back in 2021, and Trubisky was starting to look like a more formidable quarterback after years of inconsistency and struggles.

Chicago will ultimately be judged by what it does in the playoffs and not how well it played against a string of opponents outside the postseason, but its ability to bounce back from a six-game losing streak and still play its way into the field was impressive.