Oh, I have a bad feeling about all this.

Last week’s loss to the Commanders on a Hail Mary attempt was a gut punch to Bears fans everywhere. This Sunday’s loss to the Cardinals was an utterly devastating revelation.

In short, this Bears team will not be making the playoffs this year.

At some point this offseason, I felt the Bears had a shot at making the playoffs, somewhere in the 75% range. They already had a great defense and they added an exciting new quarterback, a better running back, a stud veteran receiver, and an explosive rookie wideout.

There was no reason not to expect them to be “in the hunt.”

Suddenly, things look very bleak after the Bears got smashed, 29-9, against a Cardinals team that, frankly, isn’t very good. And if the Cardinals aren’t good, what does that say about the Bears?

Let’s get the formalities out of the way. The caveat for how poorly the Bears’ defense played was that they were without three of their best players in Montez Sweat, Jaquan Brisker and Kyler Gordon. That’s going to make any defense struggle.

But for the offense to manage just three field goal drives in the second quarter and to get blanked the rest of the game, that was a complete breakdown and a bad omen for the rest of the season.

Remember, this was supposed to be the “easy” part of the schedule. Not only do the Bears still have all six division games left on their schedule against three teams — the Lions, Packers, and Vikings — who are all playoff contenders, but the Bears’ other three games are against the Seahawks, the Niners, and next week against the lowly Patriots. 

I hate to be the utter pessimist since I am actually a more optimistic person, but that Patriots game might be their final chance at a victory this season.

At least, according to the way they’re playing right now.

Obviously, I’m being a little facetious. Football still operates by the “any given Sunday” principle, and even if the Bears aren’t favored in any game the rest of the season, they could still pull off upsets.

But we’ve come a long way from feeling really good about the Bears’ playoff chances to now wondering if Matt Eberflus survives the season, if the team drafted the wrong quarterback, and if he’s the right one, will he succeed under the current conditions.

Through eight games, Caleb Williams has flashed some special, but he’s also shown some serious growth concerns. In addition to his own mistakes, he’s getting very little help from his offensive line as he’s on pace for an alarming number of sacks this season. On plays in which he’s not immediately getting pressured by the defense, he’s holding on to the ball for a very long time, trying to extend the action.

This in itself is not a problem. A quarterback who can extend plays is an asset. But why is he doing it so regularly? That’s the bigger question. You should only have to extend plays out of necessity, not out of habit or design. 

And if he indeed is extending plays regularly out of necessity, why? Is he not reading the field well? Or are his receivers not getting open for him?

If it’s the latter, that’s disturbing for a skilled veteran route runner like Keenan Allen, a well-paid pro like D.J. Moore, and a highly-touted rookie like Rome Odunze. Those guys should be getting open often.

However, if it’s the former, and Williams isn’t seeing the field well, then that’s the most alarming development of the entire season.

Remember, the central plot of the 2024 Bears season has always been about Williams’ development. Whether the Bears made the playoffs or not was just an interesting subplot and secondary narrative.

If Williams continues to flounder instead of showing growth, this scene could get very ugly soon. And that’s a movie that none of us want to see again.