Bears fans will be put out of their misery on Sunday when the 2019 season finally comes to an end in Minneapolis. At worst, the Bears will finish a year that began with Super Bowl aspirations at 7-9. At best, they'll be a .500 club. Neither result is satisfying, but it doesn't mean there aren't any reasons to be optimistic about the team's future.

Let's face it, not many teams in the NFL possess the kind of talent on defense that the Bears have. From edge rusher Khalil Mack to the ball-hawking Eddie Jackson, Chicago has established stars on all three levels of the defense who will return in 2020. The only starters whose futures are in doubt are linebacker Danny Trevathan (expiring contract) and cornerback Prince Amukamara (potential salary-cap casualty). The rest of the unit should remain intact.

And it's that side of the ball that was recently dubbed the main reason why Bears fans should be optimistic about the future of this franchise.

The Chicago Bears haven't tallied as many sacks and turnovers as they did last year, but they still boast a top-10 defense in both points and yards allowed. In a league with quarterbacks freely moving the ball through the air, that's a notable positive. Although the Bears struggled against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 16, giving up 350 yards and 26 points, they have held nine of their opponents to fewer than 21 points this season. They've gone 6-3 in those contests, which could be even better with an improved offense

Chicago's offensive struggles this season have been well-documented with most of the attention paid to quarterback Mitch Trubisky. His struggles have had a trickle-down effect on the defense because of his inability to sustain drives or give the defense a cushion to work with. The defense has been fatigued and it's pass-rush has been limited because of opponents not having to play catchup.

That said, the defense does deserve some of the blame for Chicago's step back this year. The Bears' regression in turnovers has been astonishing. After registering 27 interceptions in 2019, Chicago has just eight entering Week 17's season finale.

With all that's gone wrong in Chicago this year, the defense has at least kept them in games. Assuming the offense catches up this offseason, the future won't be nearly as gloomy as 2019.

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Bears' defense dubbed reason to remain optimistic in Chicago originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago