The Chicago Bears were excited for rookie quarterback Justin Fields’ first career start. That feeling quickly became a nightmare as head coach Matt Nagy came up pathetically short in preparing for the game.
Well, that didn’t turn out the way we wanted, did it? The Chicago Bears and their fans were very excited to witness rookie quarterback Justin Fields‘ first NFL start. That feeling turned to horror quickly, however, as the Cleveland Browns pounded Fields over and over again.
The Browns won the game 26-6 but it seemed like it was a lot worse than that. The Bears’ offense could not do anything throughout the game. They gained 24 yards on their first drive before they got a field goal to take the early lead. Who knew at that point that the drive would be the most successful in the game?
The Bears finished the game with 47 total yards of offense. No, that is not a typo, the Bears were that bad. Of that pathetic total, 46 of them were rushing yards. That means the Bears finished with just one yard of passing. A big part of the reason was the Browns recording nine sacks for 67 yards.
Fields finished the game completing six of his 20 pass attempts for 68 yards. Again, not a typo. The Browns had more sacks than the Bears had completions.
We can understand and handle blowouts. They happen all the time. What made this different, though, is that there just was no real game plan by head coach Matt Nagy. He stubbornly kept having Fields drop back despite having a struggling offensive line. Instead of using Fields’ abilities, Nagy called plays as if Andy Dalton was still the quarterback.
Fields has the ability to use his legs to make a play. He doesn’t just use them to run, however. He can move around the pocket to buy some time and help the offensive line. This is something Dalton cannot really do.
Fields never got a chance to use his legs. Play after play, Fields dropped back and then had to run for his life when the pocket broke down. Jason Peters and Germain Ifedi were nothing more than turnstiles trying to slow down pass-rushers Myles Garrett and Jadeveon Clowney. The two combined for 10 tackles, six tackles for loss, 11 quarterback hits, and 6.5 sacks. Garrett had 4.5 sacks all by himself.
Fields probably had Garrett and Clowney in his dreams when he went to sleep last night.
Matt Nagy had a horrible game plan and didn’t adjust
Nagy looked inept throughout the game. He made no adjustments. He didn’t try to move the pocket around or use any screen passes. A screen pass would help in keeping the defense honest. The Browns, seeing a rookie quarterback making his first start, decided to play aggressively. They went out to attack Fields on nearly every play. A screen pass could have gained big yards and have Cleveland become at least a little less aggressive. Instead, Nagy did absolutely nothing. Just kept calling dropbacks.
Critics would point out that Dalton was able to move the ball when he was in there. Yes, he did, but that was mostly because Nagy called short routes to make up for the offensive line struggles. He also had Dalton throw slants that require the quarterback to get rid of the ball quickly. Nagy did not call any of that for Fields, however. He called plays that required some time to develop. It was a recipe for disaster.
In his postgame press conference, Nagy looked as defeated as he’s ever been in his time as Chicago Bears head coach. He admitted that he didn’t do his job.
"There’s the anticipation of the way things go and I, obviously, as a head coach, did not do a good enough job of getting this offense ready to go, to be able to play and win a football game. So, it starts with me, ends with me, and it’s as simple as that."
Matt Nagy gets scorched after the game
One reason for Nagy admitting his obvious shortcoming in preparing for this game could be the roasting he expected to receive from Chicago Bears Nation. Despite his acceptance of responsibility, he got blasted all over social media by fans and former players alike.
Former Chicago Bears center Olin Kreutz didn’t mince words when describing the mess.
"He keeps talking about the ‘why’s,’ ‘we’ve got to find the why’s. Put a big mirror in your office, put ‘why’ over it, stand in front of the mirror. You found it, ok?"
Kreutz went on to say that Nagy’s message will wear out soon in the locker room. Players will eventually tune Nagy out if he continually says things have to change without actually making the change.
Former Bears defensive end Alex Brown echoed Kreutz.
"This is the damn problem right here because there’s no adjustment during the game. I need you to adjust during the game. You can’t wait until Wednesday or wait until Thursday… that’s too late. You’re supposed to be the offensive guru. Since you’ve been here it’s been pathetic."
WIll Chicago Bears ownership do something about the struggles?
I won’t even put in the fans’ reaction here. For most, if the McCaskey family could fire Nagy at halftime of the game they’d support it. That’s part of the problem, though.
The McCaskeys had a golden opportunity to do something about this after the season ended last year. Instead, they gave Nagy (along with general manager Ryan Pace) another chance. Now all the problems continue to happen.
What Nagy did is pretty much a firable offense. This is his fourth season as head coach. He came in with the reputation of being an offensive guru but the offense has continually struggled every season with him at the helm.
However, those of you expecting Nagy to be fired will be very disappointed. The Chicago Bears have never fired a coach during the season. They didn’t pull the trigger even during Marc Trestman’s horrible second season as head coach in 2014. While many fans think this version of the Chicago Bears is the worst ever, Trestman’s Bears were bad in every facet of the game. The team quit early in the season and it showed.
We will see more of this throughout the season. We are stuck with having Nagy as the coach. The question is how this affects Fields’ development and whether or not the McCaskeys continue with the status quo next season.