Chicago Bears have the key to avoid one-and-done playoff trips

The Chicago Bears really did come out of nowhere in 2018. Everybody expected them to be better, but division champions and a playoff team? No way.

Yet that was the case. They went 12-4 and came a missed field goal away from knocking off the defending Super Bowl champions in the wild card round. Optimism is suddenly high for the future of this team. The question moving forward is can they do it again? A lot of benefits came their way this year from a favorable schedule to decent health and having the #1 defense in the NFL. They can’t possibly expect that sort of good fortune again in 2019.

Thus there are concerns. One thing about the Bears in their long history is they tend to struggle at making the playoffs multiple years in a row. It’s why they haven’t been able to seriously compete for their second championship. Part of that process is getting multiple cracks at it. They can’t expect to get in one year, make a run and then disappear. It doesn’t work that way. So what makes this team different from those that came before it.

Stability at QB always sabotaged previous Chicago Bears playoff teams

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One thing about the Bears is that they tend to struggle at making the playoffs more than once in a span of four or five seasons. Look back over their history and it’s pockmarked with the occasional trip follow by two or three down seasons. What has been the cause of these frustrating sequences? Simple lack of stability at the quarterback position.

1956 – Ed Brown started every game, reaching the Pro Bowl
1957 – Brown severely regressed, starting just 8 games and splitting time with Zeke Bratkowski
1963 – Bill Wade started every game, reaching the Pro Bowl
1964 – Wade dealt with nagging health issues, missing 4 games
1977 – Bob Avellini started every game
1978 – Avellini severely regressed, starting just 12 games and splitting time with Mike Phipps
2001 – Jim Miller started all but three games
2002 – Miller eventually lost his job to Chris Chandler during the season
2010 – Jay Cutler started all but one game
2011 – Cutler broke his thumb after 10 games, forcing Caleb Hanie into the lineup

If one were to look at the eras where the Bears were able to string some playoff trips together, one would usually find quarterback stability in the middle of it. Sid Luckman ran the show throughout most of the 1940s, rarely missing games. Jim McMahon was prominent on their 1984 and 1985 teams though he began to miss extended time later on. The presence of a historic defense eased some of that pressure.

It was even true in 2005 and 2006. Great defense led the way the first year and then Rex Grossman starting every game the next was a big factor in how the second went. Mitch Trubisky is the unquestioned starter for the Bears. He’s coming off one of the best passing seasons a QB has ever had in this town. Odds are he’ll get even better with his experience in the system growing.

If the team can keep him healthy, there’s every reason to think they’ll be right back in the playoff mix next year because history proves it. Not just in Chicago but across the entire NFL.

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