Martellus Bennett blasts Bears ownership after loss vs. Lions

The Chicago Bears found a new way to lose in embarrassing fashion, blowing a 12-point lead to a very good Detroit Lions team and dropping to 3-8 on the season.

It wasn’t just that they lost. (Everyone pretty much expected that.) It’s how they lost, how they continue to lose and how there’s no belief that will change anytime soon.

Head coach Matt Eberflus appears to be on his way out after this season as his team still hasn’t learned how to win. But, even if Eberflus is fired at season’s end, fans don’t have any reason to be optimistic about things changing. After all, this is the Chicago Bears.

But don’t take it from me. Take it from former Bears tight end Martellus Bennett, who called out Bears ownership on Twitter (X) following the game, saying they are “built on selling the past” rather than building for the future.

The owners are ok with losing a game but not the brand built on the past. The bears need an entire rebrand. Top to bottom and they need ownership that is going to transition the organization into the future.

— Martellus Bennett (@MartysaurusRex) November 19, 2023

Their audience is a legacy audience and they’re afraid of changing because they don’t want to lose out on those legacy fans that make them money. Nostalgia is the greatest marketing tool. I’d be interested in seeing fan growth of the bears.

— Martellus Bennett (@MartysaurusRex) November 19, 2023

Doing what’s best for your players is what’s best for your franchise. Get creative and help them do what they do best. Coaches always want players to adapt but never want to adapt their schemes for their players.

— Martellus Bennett (@MartysaurusRex) November 19, 2023

The new Chicago probably lacks all connection with the bears of today. The youth of Chicago favorite team probably isn’t even the bears.

— Martellus Bennett (@MartysaurusRex) November 19, 2023

Bennett nailed it.

The biggest accomplishment Bears fans can hang their hats on is the 1985 Bears, a team that the younger fanbase never even saw play. Maybe the 2006 Bears, who were the last to reach a Super Bowl.

While the Bears are remembered for their legendary 1985 team, the 2006 squad is a better indicator of just how bad things have been for this franchise.  So let’s use that as a jumping-off point.

Since Super Bowl XLI, Chicago has made the postseason just three times (going 1-3) with their last appearance coming in 2020, when an additional playoff spot was created and the Bears lucked into it.

For all of the hope that ownership tries to sell fans, there’s one stark reality: Nothing will change until ownership changes its focus to the future (or ownership changes altogether).

Maybe someone in the Bears’ front office should take the time to listen to Martellus Bennett.