What did I just watch? That is basically what every Chicago Bears fan and member of the media was saying to themselves on Sunday. While the defense was making yet another heroic effort in defeat, the offense found new ways to make awful history with the second-fewest yards in a game in franchise history. Not even the lowly units in the early 2000s were this terrible. Blame for the debacle falls squarely at the feet of one man. Matt Nagy.
Sure the Bears were starting a rookie quarterback in Justin Fields, but he’s a 1st round pick. The offense at least should’ve been able to move the ball. Instead, he goes 6-of-20 for 68 yards passing and got sacked nine times. Yes. Nine times. He looked completely overwhelmed and it wasn’t just because he is a rookie. Nothing about the game plan on Sunday suggested the head coach even remotely tried to help him. Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune spoke to multiple NFL scouts.
They were completely baffled by it too.
“I’d take him over Baker Mayfield right now,” he said.
But the game plan left him stupefied.
“I’m just looking at this from the outside, OK. It’s not like I’m there,” he said. “But if you watched that game, I don’t know how you could come away from it thinking that there was a single adjustment made from Andy Dalton to Justin Fields. That’s just an observation. It looks the same to me. It should not look the same, right? As much as I like Fields, he might be best served with more time watching too. You could reach that conclusion quickly after a game like that.”
“The O-line was really poor,” another scout said. “He looked like a young quarterback in his first start. Did not see the field very well. Did not see it fast enough. Was hooked on the read side of the field without coming back and taking the swing or the under, get rid of the football, get it out of your hands. Nagy could have done more. No question about that. Fields was in a lot of pure drop-back situations. Right now, they need to get him on the move and make it really clear and defined for him.”
These assessments are damning. Nagy said all week that he and the coaching staff were working hard to craft a game plan that worked to Fields’ strengths. Then he proceeds to go out there and run the offense as if Dalton were still the quarterback. As talented as Fields is, he has faults. Reading the entire field and getting the ball out fast is an issue for him. This is true for most rookies.
Did the head coach care? Nope. He’s going to run his offense and everybody has to deal with it. Well, now he might be second-guessing that decision. Nagy doesn’t have Mitch Trubisky to hide behind anymore. If the offense was going to struggle this season, blame was going to fall on his shoulders. Now he is coming off one of the most humiliating games a Bears offensive play caller has ever produced, which is saying something.
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What else is there to say about Matt Nagy?
Fans have endured this for over three years now. It feels like the offense has not only been bad with him running things but actually keeps finding ways to get worse. They ranked 21st, 29th, and 26th going into this season. With three games gone in 2021? They are currently dead last at 32nd in the NFL. The schedule isn’t going to let up anytime soon either.
- Week 4: Detroit – Narrowly lost to Baltimore on a 66-yard field goal
- Week 5: Las Vegas – Undefeated with a red hot quarterback
- Week 6: Green Bay – It’s Aaron Rodgers
- Week 7: Tampa Bay – Defending champs
- Week 8: San Francisco – Averaging 28 points per game
- Week 9: Pittsburgh – Pass rush similar to the Browns
What happens if the Bears get through that stretch with maybe one more win? They hit the bye week at 2-7. Does the McCaskey family see reality and decide to fire Matt Nagy? Something they’ve never done since taking over ownership back in 1983. If this is the offense he continues to run, they may have to consider it.
Pressure from Bears fans is only going to intensify with each passing week.
For Nagy himself? There are many decisions he might regret. None bigger than taking back play calling duties this offseason. With the quarterback situation “fixed” in his mind, he had the green light to resume running his offense. Now perhaps it might be sinking in that he was always the problem.
