Even with news breaking that Jay Cutler’s shoulder injury may not be season ending, he still isn’t playing football in the next few weeks. This means the Bears have two options at QB: Matt Barkley and David Fales. (It’s gotten so bad there was drama surrounding their attempt to sign Jake Rudock off the Lions practice squad.)

So how should you watch? I’ll tell you.

DON’T GET TOO INTO THE RESULTS

Fans seem to lose context over the duration of a football game. Third string quarterback playing? WHY DON’T THEY RUN THE BALL MORE? Defense on the field for 48 minutes? WHY CAN’T THEY STOP EM ON THIRD DOWN?

I know my opinion that the Bears are only guaranteed sixteen games a season so I always root for them to win is not popular. It’s easier for fans to say, “Fuck it, I hope they lose” because it removes any emotional investment from the proceedings and allows many to cling to the Dream of The Franchise-Changing Draft Pick.

But in the case of the next six games, I’m encouraging fans to root without emotion. Because the results of these next six games no longer have much to do with the future of the Chicago Bears. With these kids at quarterback, winning just ain’t gonna happen.

FOCUS OFF THE BALL

You don’t need to be a professional scout to understand the complexities of an NFL play. But you often have to ignore where the football is going.

Why not watch Cody Whitehair exclusively for a series? See what he’s asked to do in the offense. Why not watch Nick Kwiatkoski as he (hopefully) takes over for Freeman in the middle? Why not watch Jordan Howard on the plays he doesn’t touch the ball?

No, this isn’t an exciting way to watch football. But it’s quite possibly the only way to drain value from these final six contests.

DRINK

Drink.