Chris Tabor had just won his first game as the Panthers’ interim head coach — a sloppy, rainy 9-7 victory against the Falcons on Sunday — and it felt good.
“Sometimes you knock at the door all the time and no one answers,” said Tabor, the Bears’ special teams coordinator from 2018-21 and assistant special teams coach from 2008-10. “And then sooner or later you have to kick it down.”
He did, literally, having running back Chuba Hubbard fall down at the Falcons’ 2 to set up a game-winning 23-yard field goal by former Bear Eddy Pineiro as time expired.
It was the worst thing to happen to the Bears on Sunday — and that includes their 20-17 loss to the Browns. The Panthers improved to 2-12, with the Patriots and Cardinals sitting at 3-11. The Bears now have an 85% chance to inherit the Panthers’ No. 1 overall pick, per ESPN Analytics. A week earlier, it was 95%.
The Panthers’ game Sunday at home against the Packers is the most winnable of their final three — they finish the season at the Jaguars and at home against the Bucs.
Tabor is just one member of the fraternity of former Bears coaches who are having an outsized impact on the final month of the season.
Matt Nagy, the Bears’ head coach from 2018-21, got the Chiefs’ offense back on track Sunday, winning 27-17 against the Patriots one week after his team went ballistic about an offside call in a loss to the Bills. Vic Fangio, the Bears’ defensive coordinator from 2015-18, pitched a 30-0 shutout of the Jets’ as the Dolphins’ defensive play-caller.
Sean Desai, a Bears assistant from 2013-20 and their defensive coordinator in 2021, had his defensive play-calling privileges revoked by the Eagles before their Monday night loss in Seattle. And Brandon Staley, the Bears’ outside linebackers coach from 2017-18, as fired as the Chargers’ head coach Friday after losing 63-21 to the Raiders.
None of those performances matters to Bears fans as much as what Tabor can do — or, more accurately, not do — in the season’s final three weeks.
Elsewhere around the league:
• Former Bears quarterback Mitch Trubisky was benched by the Steelers after posting a 72.4 passer rating in two starts. It’s fair to wonder if the Steelers will trust him as their backup next year.
• Since beating the Chiefs, the baffling Packers have been outscored 58-42 in losses to the Giants and Bucs.
• Here’s to the Christmas Day slate being better than the Thanksgiving one: Raiders-Chiefs at noon, Giants-Eagles at 3:30 p.m. and the Ravens-49ers at 7:15 p.m.
Re-setting the power rankings after Week 15:
1. 49ers (11-3) — Brock Purdy is the MVP favorite even as he lobbies for teammate Christian McCaffrey.
2. Ravens (11-3) — They’ve lost one game since Oct. 9.
3. Chiefs (9-5) — Nagy had them line up in single wing for a touchdown run.
4. Dolphins (10-4) — They host the Cowboys on Christmas Eve.
5. Eagles (10-4) — They’ve been outscored by 46 since Week 12; only two teams are worse.
6. Bills (8-6) — They’ve won consecutive games for the first time since Oct. 1.
7. Cowboys (10-4) — They got thrashed in Buffalo and are 3-4 on the road.
8. Lions (10-4) — Jared Goff’s 134.6 passer rating vs. Broncos was a season high.
9. Browns (9-5) — Winning with four starting QBs is Coach of the Year stuff.
10. Texans (8-6) — They deserved to win — the Titans wore old Oilers uniforms against them.
11. Bengals (8-6) — Jake Browning’s 107.1 passer rating trails only Purdy.
12. Jaguars (8-6) — They’ve lost three straight and Trevor Lawrence is concussed.
13. Colts (8-6) — They’ve won five of six and hold the No. 7 playoff seed.
14. Rams (7-7) — Kyren Williams has 655 rushing yards the past five games.
15. Buccaneers (7-7) — Baker Mayfield threw for 381 yards and four TDs at Lambeau Field.
16. Seahawks (7-7) — One-third of the NFC is 7-7.
17. Broncos (7-7) — Their easy rest-of-season schedule: vs. Patriots, vs. Chargers, at Raiders.
18. Saints (7-7) — Ex-Bear Jimmy Graham has three TD catches in as many games.
19. Vikings (7-7) — Nick Mullens keeps the starting QB job.
20. Steelers (7-7) — Mike Tomlin’s 16-year career without a losing season is in danger.
21. Packers (6-8) — Jordan Love has a 108 passer rating in five of his last seven games.
22. Raiders (6-8) — Antonio Pierce has a big test left: the Chiefs, Colts and Broncos.
23. Falcons (6-8) —Inexcusable loss to Carolina all-but-killed their playoff chances.
24. Jets (5-9) — They went from hanging 30 on Houston to getting shut out by Miami.
25. Titans (5-9) — Derrick Henry, killer of fantasy teams: 16 carries for 9 yards.
26. Chargers (5-9) — The team quit when Justin Herbert got hurt.
27. Bears (5-9) — Their last three games are against losing teams.
28. Giants (5-9) — The Saints sacked QB Tommy DeVito seven times.
29. Commanders (4-10) — Jacoby Brissett rallied them but Sam Howell remains the starter.
30. Patriots (3-11) — Bears fans need them to win to keep Panthers last.
31. Cardinals (3-11) — They’ve given up the second-most points in the NFL.
32. Panthers (2-12) — They won without scoring a touchdown.
