Matt Nagy made a push this offseason for competition at quarterback. He specifically went after a guy he wanted in Nick Foles. Somebody he knew and trusted. The Chicago Bears head coach gave Mitch Trubisky his final chance but after less than three full games, decided he’d seen enough. It was time to go to his guy. Somebody who could run his offense.
Well, his offense still kind of sucks.
Faced with their first true test of 2020, Nagy took it on the chin in every way. His play calling was predictable and ineffective. His players lacked discipline with several penalties. The offensive line was manhandled most of the game. Worst of all, Foles did nothing to alleviate the teams’ issues with scoring.
The Bears managed just three points until the final two minutes of the game. It ranked up there with the worst performances of his time as head coach. This time though he doesn’t have Trubisky to blame. It was a complete breakdown.
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That falls at the feet of Nagy.
Philip Rivers’ trash talk remains undefeated
— PFF (@PFF) October 4, 2020
Matt Nagy is about to face the biggest stretch of his career
Now a 3-1 start is not a bad thing at all. Yet that record can’t mask the reality. Chicago is extremely lucky to have that record. They were aided by a dropped touchdown pass after a 17-point comeback in Detroit. They narrowly held off the Giants in Week 2. Then they needed another 16-point comeback to take down the Falcons.
Indianapolis was their first true test of the year and they failed. The defense did all they could. They held the Colts to 19 points with some major stops in the red zone. What they got in return was 269 total yards, 11 points, and an interception from Foles. Nagy is a good coach from a motivational standpoint
Yet that isn’t the primary reason he was hired. He was brought in because he supposedly had the answers to fixing a long-dormant offense. The Bears were 21st his first year, 29th his second, and 17th going into this game. That figures to drop even further now.
Looking ahead it doesn’t figure to get much better. Tom Brady and the Buccaneers? Drew Brees and the Saints? Sean McVay and the Rams? Those are teams that will require points to beat. Nagy’s team seems allergic to that unless it’s again terrible defenses.
If he can’t fix it or hand it off to somebody else, then it becomes a problem.