CHICAGO — Long after their loss to the Denver Broncos on Sunday was over, three Bears veterans sat stunned in a corner of the Soldier Field locker room.
President Kevin Warren had long since broken through the locker room after the Bears gave up 24 unanswered points in a 31-28 loss to the Broncos and fell to 0-4. Quarterback Justin Fields sat in his locker for a while with his pads and jersey on. But by that point, the third-year quarterback had transformed and was on the podium. Wide receiver Chase Claypool’s locker sat empty, with only a name tag adorning it as perhaps the final reminder of a failed tenure.
Running back Khalil Herbert, unable to gain a yard on a critical fourth-and-1, stared into space. Fullback Khari Blasingame whispered in his ear for a few minutes before the two left.
Edmunds was still wearing his gaming pants and his eyes barely left the empty lockers across from him. Edwards stared at the ceiling as Johnson spoke, although his empty eyes suggested he was looking inward or into the past rather than forward. Looking for missed or missed opportunities and answers that the Bears must provide.
Johnson was inactive Sunday with a hamstring injury. But he stayed there long after the devastation occurred, trying to plan a response with two linebackers with whom he plans to share the field for years in Chicago.
Ten feet away, inactive safety Eddie Jackson and his defensive backfield colleague Jaquan Brisker were having their own conversation, analyzing the historic disappointment of the 31-28 loss.
For four weeks, the Bears lost in every way.
The frustration in Week 1 led to anger in Week 2 and despair in Week 3. After blowing a 21-point lead in 15 minutes on Sunday, all that remained was despair.
How the Bears respond – if they respond – will tell us a lot about the makeup of the franchise cornerstones and the direction of this rebuild.
“I think everyone’s mad, man,” Edwards said long after his 20-plus minute conversation with Johnson and Edmunds ended. “I think we are ready to win. Everyone wants it and everyone can feel this thing moving. We just gotta keep working, man. It’s coming. It’s really coming. I think we learned a lot from this. Not only do you learn a lot as a team, you also learn a lot about yourself. You learn a lot about how you can go straight back to work tomorrow and get started again. This is what we have to do.”
Sunday’s loss to the Broncos felt different than the Bears’ first three losses.
Fields and the offense were firing on all cylinders for three quarters. The protection was good, the running game was strong and Fields carved up a Broncos defense that was desperate to be sent out to pasture. The third-year quarterback started the game 23 of 25 for 285 yards and four touchdowns, giving the Bears a 28-7 lead.
Despite being outnumbered, the defense showed fight in the first half. Head coach Matt Eberflus messed everything up. The Bears played more base than nickel and sent various blitzes to Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson.
It seemed like the Bears had finally figured out who they were supposed to be.
That everything went wrong all at once and a much-needed victory was washed away in a flood of poor execution and unacceptable errors puts the Bears’ locker room and Eberflus’ tenure under scrutiny.
Maybe that’s why Edmunds, the $72 million linebacker who was considered the perfect replacement for Eberflus’ defense, was the last bear to hit the showers Sunday. He’s a defensive captain and a long-term part of what general manager Ryan Poles is building in Chicago. Edmunds offered few answers after the defeat. To be fair, nothing can absolve the Bears of the sins of a monumental meltdown. But from a humiliating collapse will emerge meaning and direction. It’s up to Edmunds to help find a way out of the rubble.
“We just have to put our heads down, keep putting one foot in front of the other and keep working,” Edmunds said. “That’s the only way to see it. This is our emotion at the moment. This is what we are faced with. This is adversity. Adversity builds character. We were hit by adversity before this game and I think that will be even more pronounced in this game.
“You said it best: Judge a man by how he performs in times of challenge and controversy. This is what we stand for now. We just have to put our heads down and get to work.”
After the meeting between Edmunds, Edwards and Johnson ended, only running back Roschon Johnson, Jackso and Brisker remained. Johnson’s gaze didn’t leave the room for some time as Brisker continually shook his head at the events that had just unfolded.
The second-year safety blamed himself and the defense for allowing the Broncos to rush back.
The Bears have been searching for answers for a month. They looked for them in program corrections, personnel changes and sharper focus.
After Sunday’s debacle, their only hope for answers is to look within. When the score is 0:4, the goals have to be realigned. Pride must prevail. There has to be a fight.
What the Bears showed through three quarters on Sunday, albeit against a bad team, was that they have the tools – maybe not all of them, but enough to compete and win games. The next 13 games will determine whether this group, particularly its leaders, can find that inner strength and bring it to the surface.
Can they take advantage of Sunday’s goodness and carry it forward into the future? Can Fields do an encore in Week 5? Will the defense show more courage as health increases? Can Edmunds, Edwards and other big-name defenders make the game-changing plays that lead to victories? Or will the 2023 Bears crumble before our eyes, calling into question the direction of a rebuild that is still in its infancy?
“Keep going. Never stop. No matter how hard it gets, never stop,” Fields said after the loss. “We play for each other. I play for every single guy in this locker room. They know I’m going to do my best, and you know, I know I’m going to get the same thing back from them. So keep going, don’t get discouraged and play every play and every game like it’s your last.”
If the Bears don’t respond, the final game — at least for this core group — could come sooner than anyone, even the most ardent critics, could have ever expected.
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