Chicago Bears: 3 Observations from Week 15 loss to Packers

The offense again displays everything that cost them in losses in 2019

As we all know, the offense has struggled mightily in their losses this season. Too many missed opportunities, too many turnovers in key situations and too many slow starts that made it difficult to come away with victories all contributed to frustrating losses.

All those contributors again showed themselves. Again, the slow start hurt. They had 14 yards on their first 12 plays (1.17 yards per play). It wasn’t until the second quarter when the Bears finally started moving the ball. They had a 13-play, 49-yard drive, but it resulted in a turnover on downs. They then went 52 yards on eight plays that resulted in an Eddy Pineiro 30-yard field goal.

The Bears again started slowly in the third quarter until late in the quarter. They went 75 yards on 11 plays. The drive stalled when Mitchell Trubisky thought he completed a pass for a first down to Cordarrelle Patterson on the Packers’ 2-yard line on a third-and-6.

The officials declared that Patterson stepped out of bounds when he caught the pass. It was very close and Patterson might have been in bounds, but there was no clear evidence that could have overturned the call. Instead, head coach Matt Nagy called for a field goal.

While everyone concentrated on Patterson, if you go back to the play, you’ll see that when Trubsiky scrambled, Javon Wims turned and went to his right and got wide open. He called for the ball and raised his hand but Trubisky again focused on just one receiver and missed a wide-open target somewhere else. That is something that has haunted Trubisky this season.

There was another play on third down that could have kept a drive alive in the third quarter but Trubisky threw to a covered Anthony Miller (who again had a great game with nine catches for 118 yards and a touchdown) over Allen Robinson (seven catches, 125 yards), who was open and would have gained the first down.

Nagy continues to have trouble with the run. David Montgomery had 14 carries for 39 yards. Again, however, he had Trubisky drop back too much. Trubisky had 56 dropbacks as opposed to 27 runs.

Maybe the number of runs wasn’t too bad, but the type of runs left something to be desired. There were way too many calls for runs right into the middle of the defense, between the center and guards. That didn’t work, but the calls kept going that way. There were a few to the outside but not enough of them.

Yes, Trubisky has had his troubles and the Bears need to bring in some real competition next season. Nagy, however, needs to look deep within himself. He continues to talk about running more, but that isn’t the only problem. He needs to run better running plays.

He has dynamic running backs in Montgomery and Tarik Cohen. While the line needs to run block better, Nagy needs to be more creative on run plays. He needs to use the athletic advantages both runners have.

Nagy and the Chicago Bears had a great 2018 season. The 2019 season was, hopefully, a great learning experience. The coaching staff needs to use this season to get back on track for next season.