Chicago Bears free-fall exacerbated with Nick Foles injury

The Chicago Bears have lost four straight games but also lost quarterback Nick Foles.

The Chicago Bears needed a win on Monday Night Football in Week 10 if they were going to turn their 2020 season around. Instead, they not only dropped their fourth straight contest but also lost starting quarterback Nick Foles to an injury that saw him get carted off the field with what is being called a hip or leg injury by the team.

Prior to the injury, the Bears were — in the words of the late, great Dennis Green — who we thought they were. A team with an anemic offense that needs suffocating defensive performances to win couldn’t totally deliver on either side of the ball in primetime.

Kirk Cousins shook off the tag of not winning in primetime and threw for 292 yards and two touchdowns as the Minnesota Vikings left the Windy City with a 19-13 victory. The Bears’ points largely came as a result of strong defensive play and a 104-yard kickoff return by former Viking Cordarrelle Patterson.

Foles, admittedly, wasn’t all that impressive prior to his injury, throwing for just 106 yards with no scores and an interception. But even then, the injury leaves Chicago in an even worse spot moving forward, which is frightening given the nose-dive the team has taken since their 5-1 start.

The Chicago Bears offense was already problematic but is even more so without Foles.

As has been proven since the arrival of Khalil Mack, the Bears defense is built to win a championship. But with Mitchell Trubisky to start the season and then with Foles taking over, the offense has been a complete hindrance in that regards.

It’s not rocket science. The Chicago offense has been seemingly incapable of providing help for their upper-tier defense. That unit needs to catch its breath and get some help — but neither of those things have happened on a consistent basis with the Bears this year.

Coming into this game, head coach Matt Nagy gave up play-calling to Bill Lazor. That clearly did not have a positive effect. But losing Foles only makes that worse in a major way. If Trubisky, who has been out due to injury in recent weeks, isn’t able to take over, the Bears will be forced to look to Tyler Bray or someone not currently on the roster.

The Bears were at the top of the NFC North after their 5-1 start and feeling good about their playoff chances. Now, they are on the brink of collapse. That was happening with Foles at the helm of the mediocre offense and, without him, it only becomes a more likely possibility.