A year ago at this time, a dreadful Bears season couldn’t end soon enough. But the emergence of quarterback Justin Fields spurs hope that a strong finish this season can lead to bigger things in 2023.
The Bears are 3-12. They’ve lost eight games in a row. They’ve been at this since July. Sunday is New Year’s Day, and they still have two games to go.
Ugh? Not quite.
‘‘I’m excited to go,’’ quarterback Justin Fields said. ‘‘I’m blessed. I have the best job in the world, just getting to do what I love every day and getting to play a sport.’’
At this time last year, the Bears’ season couldn’t end soon enough. They were 5-10, and not even an exciting 25-24 victory against the Seahawks and Russell Wilson could pump any joy into a dreadful death march.
Nick Foles, who engineered that upset victory, was not part of the future. And coach Matt Nagy was certain to be gone, as well. As it turned out, general manager Ryan Pace was let go, too.
Fast-forward to this week, and the Bears have a worse record but a brighter outlook. Perhaps only in Chicago could a quarterback of the worst passing attack in the NFL elicit fervent hope for the future. But here we are, emotionally tethered to Fields as the player who gives everyone something to play for.
