Late in their Week 8 matchup with the Baltimore Ravens, the Chicago Bears defense was in a near do-or-die situation. On a third down, with seven yards to go, the Ravens had the ball on their own 48-yard line and were up 23-16 with just over three minutes to go.
Quarterback Tyler Huntley found wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins for a gain of 14, but there was a small problem. Hopkins blatantly grabbed Nahshon Wright's face mask and should have been called for a penalty.
Had the refs called a penalty on Hopkins, it would have put the Ravens deeper back into their own territory, facing a 3rd-and-22. Yet, what would it really have changed? Let's get blunt, here, for a moment.
Missed call on DeAndre Hopkins wouldn't have made a difference in the Bears' Week 8 loss
Chicago shot itself in the foot all day long, and in the plays following that no-call on Hopkins, the Bears went on to get penalized two more times on that drive alone; both for defensive offsides. The Bears ended this game with a horrendous amount of penalties, to no one's surprise.
The Bears finished with 11 penalties for 79 yards, to be exact.
It's a trend that's been hurting the Bears all season long. Ben Johnson's crew entered Week 8 ranked 31st in both penalties per game and penalty yards per game.
Just because the no-call looked blatant doesn't mean the Bears were going to automatically turn around and score a game-tying touchdown after getting the ball back. And, let's be fair to the Ravens. That's assuming the Bears stopped Baltimore on a long third down following the would-be penalty.
Baltimore likely would have punted and the Bears were in line to get the ball deep inside their own territory. What happened the last time Chicago's offense was in that very same position?
Yep, a Caleb Williams interception thrown from his own 4-yard line.
Let's face it. This wasn't the Bears' day. It was a performance most fans had been bracing for. It was exactly why a large majority of this fan base wasn't on board with the "rah rah, 4-game win streak" chatter.
Chicago did just about everything they could to lose a game that they should have won. It's a tale as old as time.
For fans who were buying into the notion that these weren't your same old Bears, the franchise just told you not to hold your breath. That's the kind of performance Bears fans have long grown used to.