Chicago Bears' Grip On The #1 Pick Has Tightened Even Further

There aren't many positives left for the Chicago Bears at this point. Their last opportunity to rescue the season before it spiraled away from them fell through in a 19-13 loss to Minnesota. Everything about that game was a disaster. Their offensive line failed to show up again, allowing the Vikings to harass the quarterbacks all day. Justin Fields regressed back to the form he showed in the first three weeks, looking indecisive and not showing enough poise. Then, to put the final nail in the coffin, he appeared to suffer a serious hand injury that knocked him out of the game.

If Fields misses extended time, and it's looking that way, the Bears' season is over. Barring a magical breakout from rookie backup Tyson Bagent, this team doesn't have the defense or the coaching necessary to rebound. However, there is a silver lining to everything. Their loss on Sunday, along with the Carolina Panthers falling to Miami, has put the Bears in firm control of the #1 overall pick in next year's draft. Denver is the only team with a 1-5 record like Chicago, and the Bears hold the tiebreaker, having lost to them a couple of weeks ago.

The Chicago Bears are almost sure to have a top 2 pick.

Since 2010, every team that has started a season 0-6 ended up with one of the first two picks in the draft the following year. So unless Carolina pulls off an ultra-rare midseason turnaround that hasn't been seen in well over a decade, the Bears will likely have a top 2 pick. They could have both if their own season continues spiraling. Their schedule starts to get tougher after their upcoming game against the Las Vegas Raiders. That includes four of five games on the road. Even if Fields' injury isn't as severe as feared, it doesn't look like this team is equipped to string wins together.

They're not a good football team. It is the unfortunate truth. They have some good players, but not nearly enough. Put poor coaching into the mix, and you get long losing streaks and failing to beat weak opponents. Eberflus and his staff are all but gone after this season is over. So is Fields. The reset button will be hit. From there, it's figuring out who the top brass will look to pair with either Caleb Williams or Drake Maye. Maybe this time around, things will be different.

All Bears fans have left is hope at this point.