People have continued to have reservations about new Chicago Bears head coach Matt Nagy. They aren’t sure where to stand with him. He was hired for several reasons, but the big one was to fix the long-stagnant Bears offense and bring it into the 21st century. For three weeks in the preseason, he had shown much of anything different from the previous years.
So when he made the controversial announcement that most of the offensive starters would be sitting the game vs. the Kansas City Chiefs? Many people lost their minds. How could he justify sitting his starters considering they had such little game experience trying to run his complicated system? It was foolhardy.
Nagy didn’t seem worried. He felt such an issue could be overcome by giving the starters extra reps in practice. He’d rather not risk any serious injuries to key players with the first game of the year in Green Bay being so important. Most critics expected him to pay for that decision right away as the Bears backups went against the Chiefs starters.
They may want to get used to the flavor of crow.
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Matt Nagy used backup offense to prove a point vs. Chiefs
Facing a Chiefs defense that was playing most of its starters, the Bears could’ve have been less intimidated. On their first drive of the day, they went 60 yards down the field in just six plays to score a touchdown. Most probably chalked that up to poor execution by Kansas City. Something the Bears took advantage of.
Except that was wrong. After the Chiefs tied the game 7-7, Nagy got the ball again and went right back to work cutting up his former team with merciless precision. They quickly moved inside the 30-yard line and that’s where Kevin White finally reached a milestone that has eluded him for three years.
What Kevin White did to Orlando Scandrick is illegal in some states. pic.twitter.com/xdM3TRNg0V
— Carrington Harrison (@cdotharrison) August 25, 2018
That wasn’t some backup corner he was burning either. Orlando Scandrick is a respected NFL veteran. This guy was playing close to a Pro Bowl level back in 2013 and 2014 for the Dallas Cowboys. For a receiver with just five career starts to his to beat him that badly? It’s a welcome sign for the Bears that maybe, just maybe the former first round pick is coming around.
He wasn’t alone though.
Nagy continued to showcase how deep the Bears have become at wide receiver. On the next series, it was seventh round pick Javon Wims taking center stage. He punctuated what has been a terrific preseason with two big catches. The first was a catch and run for 54 yards. The other was a beautiful toe-tapping touchdown in the back corner of the end zone.
That pass! That catch! #KCvsCHI pic.twitter.com/cowzn0QkjD
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) August 25, 2018
By the end of the half the Bears had racked up 280 yards with 16 first downs and controlled the ball for just over 19 minutes. Chase Daniel went 15-of-18 for 198 yards and two touchdowns. Preseason or not, it was a clinic. Not a single person in that stadium expected the Bears to do that. No one except their head coach.
If this is a preview of what’s to come when the games get real, Chicago may be in store for a fun ride.
