QBs Are Huge But Teams Win Playoff Games

Justin like in last week's super wild card weekend, the NFL's divisional playoff weekend taught something about the plight of the Chicago Bears.

Whenever games are played in the NFL it can reveal something about a team and the future even if they are not playing.

If you're looking for it as an indication which way the Bears should go at the top of the coming 2024 NFL Draft, good luck.

There is little clarity from games involving different types of quarterbacks. It's easy to find arguments both ways supported by results from games Saturday and Sunday.

Here's what we learned about the Bears and their plight from the divisional playoffs.

1. Tear Up Cairo Santos' Contract 

The Bears kicker deserves more than the four-year, $16 million extension the team just gave him. After seeing what happened in the Packers-49ers game and the Bills-Chiefs game, it's more important than ever the Bears should be counting their blessings for having the most accurate kicker in franchise history and one who made 7 of 8 from 50 yards or longer this season. They should pay him more.

They could be the Packers, who basically lost because they decided it was time to part ways with Mason Crosby and didn't sign him back. So they turned it over to Anders Carlson's undependable foot. They got the missed 41-yard field goal. Buffalo had a similar late-game result on the missed 44-yarder from Tyler Bass with the season on the line.

Missed kicks of this time always stir up haunting Cody Parkey memories. The Bears are so lucky to have the kicker they have that he deserves a larger bonus.

2. QBs Can Win Different Ways

The Bears saw a running quarterback, Lamar Jackson, win a playoff game with 152 yards passing and 100 yards rushing. It sounds a lot like the line for Justin Fields during some games this season.

They saw Josh Allen run for 72 yards and two TDs and throw for 186 yards and a TD in a performance as good or better than Patrick Mahomes' 215-yard passing, 19-yard rushing game that had two TDs passing and one rushing. If not for Bass' miserable kick in good weather conditions for Buffalo, they might still be playing.

On the other hand, Brock Purdy and Jared Goff ran for a combined 20 yards and their teams are playing for the NFC championship. They're pocket passers and it works.

3. Running Game Can Carry QBs

The Bears might not be as far away from a winning formula on offense as some think. They were No. 2 in rushing this season, No. 1 last season, and led the NFL in run defense. The Ravens had 229 yards rushing Saturday, 129 yards not from their quarterback. At the same time, their defense held Houston to 38 yards rushing.

Green Bay's Jordan Love threw two interceptions, averaged only 5.7 yards per pass and had a mediocre 72.4 passer rating. The running game, with Aaron Jones pounding for 6.0 yards a carry on 108 yards for 18 attempts, kept the Packers in the lead or within striking distance until the final interception Love threw.

The Lions outrushed Tampa Bay 114 yards to 89 even without a QB contributing significant rushing yards, and they were able to combine this with Jared Goff's clutch passing to offset 349 yards passing and three TDs by Baker Mayfield.

The Chiefs were outrushed overall but did have 146 yards rushing and 97 of them by the game's leading rusher, Isaiah Pacheco.

The old saying pass to score, rush to win is still relevant in the NFL.

4. Inexperienced QBs Have Limits

When C.J. Stroud beat the Cleveland Browns it was viewed by many as proof the Bears would be better off drafting Caleb Williams to start next year and they could still win in his rookie year. 

It was actually more proof C.J. Stroud could win. Both Stroud and inexperienced Love showed this  past weekend they couldn't beat the best teams in the conference.

Drafting Williams and playing him is a totally different issue and has nothing to do with Stroud's and Love's successes and failures. There have been plenty of good quarterbacks as rookies who had capability to get in the playoffs or did and failed, and a few who succeeded. However, finding the rookie QB capable of getting to the conference finals is another matter.

5. Team Matters

If there is one thing that can be drawn from all of the playoff games, it's how much team matters and not simply quarterback.

Patrick Mahomes was the winning quarterback for the Chiefs and everyone sees the bundle commercials and Mahomes/Maauto commercials, sees the glamour of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce but the Chiefs are in their sixth straight AFC title game because they have a great team. They have the second-ranked defense. Mahomes and the KC offense as only ranked ninth overall and 15th in scoring. Lamar Jackson seems like a lock for MVP but the Ravens are top seeds largely because their defense is consistently excellent, ranking first overall in points allowed, sixth in yards allowed.

What does this say for the Bears' use of the first pick in the draft?

It could be interpreted as a statement about how the Bears need to keep building their full team and the best way to do this would be to trade down and use the picks for more talent.

Then again, the strong team supported by an ineffective passer or passer/runner at quarterback is a path the Bears took throughout the Lovie Smith era and it only got them to the Super Bowl, not a win.

The truth is, they need to build the team as strong as they can AND have a quarterback who makes plays throwing and, if need be, running to get in the Super Bowl picture.

None of this says they need to take Williams or they need to keep Fields.

They need a better team and a quarterback who knows how to win at the end of games. They seem much closer to building the kind of team they need than they do having the quarterback and coaching staff who can get them to the ultimate game.

Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven