“Sell the team!”: Bears fans vent their anger in the home finale of a disastrous season

CHICAGO — With two minutes and 14 seconds left in a terrible game against the Seattle Seahawks, fans at the United Club of Soldier Field began chanting.

“Sell the team!”

“Sell the team!”

“Sell the team!”

The Chicago Bears decided to punt after offensive lineman Jake Curhan’s false start from their own 39 yards turned into a fourth-and-5.

“Sell the team!”

“Sell the team!”

But wait…the Bears called a timeout. They’ve changed their minds. They wanted to try it.

After all, what did the Bears have to lose other than another game in another losing season for the NFL’s charter franchise?

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However, the chants began again.

And they spread.

“Sell the team!”

The only thing that seemed to stop them was what quarterback Caleb Williams did in the final moments of the game as the Bears mismanaged the clock even more.

On fourth-and-5, Williams evaded an all-out Seahawks attack and connected with receiver DJ Moore over the middle for a 14-yard gain. Three plays later, on third-and-14, Williams escaped further pressure from Seattle, was hit in the throat by linebacker Boye Mafe and completed a 15-yard pass to rookie receiver Rome Odunze.

But the chants would return.

Williams threw an interception over the middle on the Bears’ final offensive play against another all-out Seattle attack. Then quarterback Geno Smith took a knee and gave the Seahawks a 6-3 win on “Thursday Night Football.”

“SELL THE TEAM!” Chants erupted from Bears fans at Soldier Field this evening.

🎥 @jacobinfante24 pic.twitter.com/ErHL3deV9X

– The Athlete (@TheAthletic) December 27, 2024

The fans who had decided to sit through such an ugly game the day after Christmas made chairman George McCaskey and his family hear it again. Their chants grew louder – angrier.

“Sell the team!”

“Sell the team!”

“Sell the team!”

As always, things can and will get worse for the Bears. Fans have gone from “Fire Nagy” to “Fire Flus” to “Sell the team,” which some longtime observers say is a new cry from the home crowd. The Bears’ losing streak stretched to 10 games. The only thing missing is the Green Bay Packers’ annual clash with the Bears.

And that will likely come in the season finale at Lambeau Field.

Williams tried to blame himself for what happened against the Seahawks. He’s right to think he can play better, especially since the Bears defense played its best game since coach Matt Eberflus was fired. Williams was 16-for-28 passing for 122 yards. He was fired seven times. His interception-free streak ended with his last throw. It was one of his worst games of the season and it was televised on national television.

“I didn’t play well enough,” Williams said. “I didn’t contribute to putting the team in a good position to win, a better position to win, and that’s what it is.”

Williams referred to the “stupid” sacks he took against the Seahawks. He was sacked a total of 67 times this season, the most in the entire league.

“Because of some of the situations I’ve put us in, I’m definitely going to take the heat,” he said.

Caleb Williams didn’t complete a single pass over 6 yards downfield until the final game of regulation in the Bears’ TNF loss to the Seahawks.

🔸 Under 10 AY: 15/17, 107 yards (+4.5% CPOE)
🔸 Over 10 AY: 1/9, 15 yards, INT (-27.2% CPOE)#SEAvsCHI | #DaBears pic.twitter.com/4pr4JU2jsm

– Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) December 27, 2024

But it’s still unfair to expect the rookie quarterback to handle everything this disastrous season has to offer. He needs to play better, but he’s trying to get out of a hole he didn’t dig. His first NFL offensive coordinator and head coach were fired during the season, something the Bears had never done before this year. The team will soon be looking for its sixth head coach under McCaskey.

Thursday’s “sell the team” chants at Soldier Field rang out just four days after Detroit Lions fans filled Soldier Field in their Honolulu blue and watched their team earn a 34-17 victory. A day later, Packers fans chanted “The Bears still suck” on “Monday Night Football” as their favorite team defeated the New Orleans Saints at Lambeau Field.

Williams was asked about the chants and frustrations from fans.

“This is my first year,” he said. “Their frustrations go back much longer than when I was here. My job is to go out and win games. We don’t focus on outside noise. Fans, they will cheer and maybe sometimes boo. You can’t react to that. We don’t respond to that. We have a job to do. And sometimes some days you don’t do your job so well and some days you’re pretty consistent, some days you play a great game.”

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Williams’ best game Thursday night was wiped out by a second-quarter penalty. On third-and-10 from the Seahawks’ 17, Williams scrambled left and fired a touchdown pass to Odunze in the end zone. Curhan, playing in place of injured starter Teven Jenkins, was penalized for holding. The Bears settled for a 42-yard field goal from Cairo Santos.

They never scored again.

Williams remains the most appealing thing about the Bears, but he desperately needs coaching help on and off the field. His development cannot be affected by this miserable season.

And the bears, the bears, haven’t broken him – yet.

“Frustrating, annoying, but I’m learning, I would say,” Williams said. “I definitely think this will be good for me. I’m excited for this final game and then excited for the future.”

(Photo: Michael Reaves/Getty Images)