Rozner: Bears' big win over Houston could lead to a nightmare scenario

Extend them all.

No, really. In the sixth year of GM Ryan Pace's rebuild, the Bears looked like a football team Sunday.

Sure, it was against a dreadful Houston team that had already fired its GM/coach, but the Bears have displayed an amazing ability to lose to terrible teams.

So yes, extend them all while you have the chance. Bring back Pace, Matt Nagy and Mitch Trubisky and give them another three or four years to develop the program and deliver that ever-elusive Super Bowl.

The Trubisky Truthers will point to Sunday's magic as proof that Pace was right to take the quarterback second overall in 2017, ahead of Deshaun Watson and Patrick Mahomes.

Absolutely. It was the right call.

It's a new Trubisky after sitting for two months, a transformation from horrific to Hall of Famer, all due to a benching that allowed him to learn the NFL game from the sideline.

For the love of Cade McNown and all that's holy, nothing is different about Trubisky. Sunday's game plan was the only one that can work with this quarterback. Hand it off, use play action, get him out of the pocket, work the screen and keep throws very short and very simple against the worst defense in the NFL.

No thinking necessary and no reason to read the defense. Take the game entirely out of his hands, let him play with a lead and let the defense do the heavy lifting.

You've seen too many times what happens when you need Trubisky to think on his feet or to make a play when it matters.

Watson, on the other hand, had no defense to help him, no running back to give it to and no receivers to throw to in a 36-7 Bears victory at Soldier Field, and yet it was still mesmerizing to see him occasionally create something out of nothing, to extend plays and find an open receiver.

As for Trubisky, enjoy the narrative this week, as a fired-up Nagy points to the miraculous makeover of his quarterback, and the never-give-up attitude of his group, that same one that has quit on him several times this season.

The end of a miserable six-game losing streak leaves the Bears (6-7) on the edge of the playoff race, attempting to post their second winning record in six years of Pace (40-53) that have produced 60 minutes of postseason football.

It's a lot to be proud of and definitely something to celebrate. Never mind the failures and inventive ways they found to lose to the Rams, Saints, Titans, Vikings, Packers and Lions, or the games they should have lost early in the season when they were producing that very impressive 5-1 record.

This is the nightmare scenario for Bears fans hoping for change, a few wins at the end of the season that give George McCaskey and Ted Phillips the opportunity to say, "I told you so," and to bring everyone back.

Not exactly everyone, as the team is up against a salary cap that is likely to go down given the pandemic economics, leaving them little room to improve in 2021 without cutting or trading some big salaries.

Do you really want to leave Pace and Nagy in charge of that, as they try to sell ownership on a fifth year of Trubisky?

This is just the kind of game that fools people who want to be fooled, who want to believe something they already thought was true. That's dangerous for an inept franchise.

A less frightening question is, why did it take three years for Nagy to figure out Trubisky's limitations? The way the game was called Sunday was the way every game must be called for a quarterback who can't see the field.

The learning curve for Nagy is extraordinary, but you already know the answer is Nagy has been too busy trying to prove his offensive genius and fit trapezoids into round holes, while propping up a GM who finds greatness in players that no one else finds.

Nagy will sell Trubisky for as long as he has a job, knowing he must to keep his job, and attempt to save his GM at the same time.

And with games next against Minnesota and Jacksonville, the Bears could be 8-7 going into the final game against Green Bay, with perhaps a playoff berth on the line.

Don't think it can't happen. Don't think all three amigos can't return. Don't think there won't be a case made inside Halas Hall that it's all coming together for a group that's had forever and a day to figure it out.

All the pieces are in place.

Certainly, bring them all back in 2021. Year 7 could absolutely be different.