The Bears and Blackhawks have the same issues. Can they save their seasons?

WARNING, BEARS AND BLACKHAWKS FANS: Depressing material straight ahead.

Proceed at your own risk.

In covering both teams over the past two months, I've noticed incredible similarities about how they play and how they're coached.

Both, for instance, give fans reasons to hope during most of their games but often don't have what it takes to prevail.

To wit:

• The Bears are within 3 points of Aaron Rodgers and the Packers late in the game, and the defense can't come up with a key stop.

• The Bears are leading San Francisco 13-9 at the half, and the defense collapses once again in a 33-22 loss.

• The Hawks hang with St. Louis all night, but allow a goal with 12½ minutes remaining and go down 1-0.

• The Hawks take a 2-goal lead on undefeated Carolina, still lead 3-2 going into the third period, lose the lead 17 seconds later and fall 4-3.

Good enough to compete. Not good enough to win very often.

But why?

Because both teams have plenty of talent on paper.

In the Bears' case, they again seem incapable of making in-game adjustments. Look no further than the loss to San Francisco for proof.

On their last two scoring drives, the Niners used three toss sweeps - plays that rarely work in the modern NFL - and executed them to perfection to the tune of 27, 39 and 12 yards.

San Francisco saw something, adjusted, and turned a 23-22 lead into 33-22.

The Bears' offense remains a joke in the second half as well, managing a sickly 55 points in eight games. That 6.9 average ranks 31st behind only Houston's 6.1.

You can't win this way consistently, which is a big reason why the Bears are 3-5 heading into Monday night's game against Pittsburgh.

Now, Justin Fields is trending the right direction, but is this the right coaching staff to unlock all of his potential? Is Ryan Pace the right GM to surround him with top-notch talent?

Because their track records scream NO WAY.

Now for the 1-8-2 Hawks, whose problems are multi-layered.

• Goalie Marc-Andre Fleury - the Vezina Trophy winner last year - is losing his net at times and allowing far too many soft goals. His 3.96 goals-against average is last among netminders with at least 150 minutes.

• Jonathan Toews has no goals in 11 games, the second-worst start to his career.

• Defenseman Seth Jones is beginning to look more comfortable, but still hasn't proven to be the dominant No. 1 defenseman the Hawks thought they were getting in the off-season.

• Jake McCabe, signed to a four-year, $16 million deal, is also off to a rough start. The D-man's turnover early in the third period Wednesday led directly to Carolina's game-tying goal that completely flipped the momentum.

Now, Patrick Kane did miss four games while in COVID protocol, but the Hawks are still just 1-4-2 with him in the lineup.

So again we must ask: Does one of the Hawks' main issues boil down to coaching?

Is Jeremy Colliton and his staff putting players in the best positions to succeed? Is he making proper in-game adjustments? Is there any accountability for poor passes, decisions and/or missed opportunities?

Are the right players in the lineup, because Dylan Strome's benching against Carolina was definitely a head-scratcher.

Handed a bunch of new, shiny toys in the off-season, Colliton was expected to guide a well-oiled machine to an impressive turnaround.

Instead, the Hawks have completely blown a gasket.

"We as a group and us as a coaching staff, we need to understand the difference between winning and losing," Colliton said Wednesday. "That is it. We can talk about a lot of other stuff.

"But it's a mindset, when you go on the ice, what are you trying to accomplish in your shift? Especially up 3-1 at home when we have momentum. The teams that win, they handle it much better than we did."

• • •

So where are these teams headed?

The Bears seem destined for yet another mediocre season. Maybe that's OK if Fields continues his ascent, but the Bears desperately need upgrades on the offensive line, at wide receiver and all over the place on an aging defense.

The Hawks, who should be getting injured defenseman Wyatt Kalynuk back soon, actually could be trending up. Still, it's going to be awfully difficult to climb out of this deep hole.

Looks like a long, cold winter awaits.

My advice: proceed with caution and lower your expectations ... or perhaps head to the UC to catch the 6-2 Bulls.