The Chicago Bears will wrap up their preseason schedule against the Tennessee Titans on Saturday as they will look to bounce back following a 41-15 loss to the Buffalo Bills. The main takeaway from the blowout loss was the inept play of the Bears’ starting offense behind quarterback Andy Dalton while former starter Mitchell Trubisky excelled for the Bills. Bears’ coach Matt Nagy had his play-calling questioned again as a significant concern reappeared during the loss.

2. Forget the entire Andy Dalton situation.

The conversation is starting to shift towards Matt Nagy and whether he can craft an offense that teams can't so easily bottle up.

Six points from the 1st team offense in two halves. #Bears

— Erik Lambert (@ErikLambert1) August 21, 2021

Nagy’s Play Design Lacks Any Creativity Or Any Threat To Opposing Defenses

During Saturday’s loss to Buffalo, Nagy’s starting offense behind Dalton only had one scoring drive during the first half, along with two drives ended by turnovers. The lone scoring drive came on a 73-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Rodney Adams. Other than Adam’s score, the starting offense did not put any extended offensive drives together as half of Dalton’s 146 passing yards came on the touchdown pass.

The big concern about the offense’s struggles was Nagy’s play-design as no Bears’ receivers gained separation or were wide open again the Bills’ defense. Even on the 73-yard touchdown pass to Adams, the pass was contested as the receiver won a 50/50 ball. Although the Bears were without many of their starters at the skill positions, each of Dalton’s throws were to contested targets.

Andy Dalton's preseason drives:

3 & out – 6 yards
3 & out – 8 yards
3 & out – 9 yards
3 & out – 5 yards

— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) August 21, 2021

Since 2019, Chicago’s offense has lacked creativity and an ability to hit on big plays, both via the running and passing game. Nagy’s play designs have been brought into question as there have been numerous games in the last two seasons where the offense has failed to move the ball with any consistency. During the Bears’ six-game losing streak last season, the offense scored four touchdowns during a four-game span. In the team’s final two losses of their six-game losing streak, the offense scored six touchdowns as offensive coordinator Bill Lazor took over play-calling duties.

Lazor’s play-calling was the main reason why the Bears were able to make a late-season run to make the playoffs in 2020. Chicago average 31 points per game in their last four games with their interim play-caller. Following the end of the 2020 season, Nagy retook play-calling responsibilities to the concerns of both analysts and fans. The move was even more puzzling as Lazor was the Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator when Dalton was named to the Pro Bowl in 2016.

BREAKING:

Chicago Bears HC Matt Nagy said that he will no longer call plays.

Bill Lazor will now call plays.

(Via Bears FB)

— Daniel Greenberg (@ChiSportUpdates) November 13, 2020

Nagy’s Biggest Excuse Went Away With Trubisky’s Performance

Nagy’s offensive struggles would not have been as notable if not for Trubisky’s stellar play against the Bears’ defense on Saturday. The former second overall selection passed for 221 yards and a touchdown in the first half of the game. Trubisky finished the game with a quarterback rating of 106 while completing 20 of 28 pass attempts. During his time with Chicago, the former North Carolina quarterback struggled with accuracy and an inability to execute Nagy’s offense.

Mitchell Trubisky led the Bills to 13 points in the first quarter today.

In 50 career starts for the Bears, Trubisky led Chicago to 13 points in the first quarter just twice. pic.twitter.com/6QBDO7zS7w

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) August 21, 2021

Against the Bears, Trubisky consistently found the open man as Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll got the ball out of his quarterback’s hands quickly. Many pass completions for the Bills’ quarterback came on quick reads that made the Bears’ defensive pass rush ineffective. Very rarely was Trubisky ever in threat of being sacked or being forced to hurry a throw. The Bills scored on all but one of their offensive drives in the first half.

Highest graded QBs in Bills-Bears:

🔹 Mitchell Trubisky – 76.2 👀
…
🔹 Justin Fields – 64.8
🔹 Andy Dalton – 52.0 pic.twitter.com/PFKFhqqPvv

— PFF (@PFF) August 22, 2021

During his time with Trubisky, Nagy consistently placed blame on his quarterback for his offense consistency struggles. Chicago’s head coach benched his starting quarterback three weeks into the season last week in favor of a quarterback that knew his offensive system. Although Nick Foles led the Bears on a 21-point comeback against the Atlanta Falcons, he struggled as a starter, compiling a 2-5 record. Foles passes for seven touchdowns and seven interceptions after being named the starter in week four.

With Trubisky’s performance against the Bears, Nagy lost his most reliable excuse why his offense continues to struggle. Since being hired as head coach in 2018, the Bears’ current coach had three different starting quarterbacks, with two expected to start this season. Trubisky, Foles, and Chase Daniel all have had more inefficient games under Nagy than efficient games. Chicago’s head coach has reiterated that he needs a quality quarterback for his offense to be fully effective.

While Nick Foles was 8-of-10 on play-action passes, he was just 18-of-32 on all other throws (56%).

Sound familiar?

Mitchell Trubisky, the QB that Foles replaced, completed a league-worst 53% of non-play-action passes in his 3 starts this season. pic.twitter.com/SwWHKu8Bor

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) October 5, 2020

Heading into the regular season, there is a likely chance that the Bears’ offense generates the same results seen in 2020, despite having a new quarterback in Dalton. Without Trubisky, Nagy will be forced to accept sole responsibility for his inept offensive as he will have four starters that will have failed to yield consistent and successful results. The offensive struggles could lead to Lazor taking over play-calling duties for a second season, or it could potentially lead to the Bears’ head coach being fired at the end of the season.