Chicago Bears: Another embarrassing loss should cost Matt Nagy’s job
The Chicago Bears suffer another embarrassing loss, this time a 38-3 rout at the hands of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. After going through multiple humiliations, the Matt Nagy era in Chicago could be nearing the end.
Well, the result was what many expected. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers blew out the Chicago Bears. The problem is that the beatdown was worse than what was expected. The Bears were out of this game from the beginning in a 38-3 loss that wasn’t as close as the score indicates.
The Bears were never in this game. Tom Brady and the Bucs seized control from the start and just destroyed Chicago. After the Bears started the game with a five-play, zero yards drive, they punted the ball. Jaelon Darden promptly returned the punt 43 yards to the Bears’ 32. Brady threw a deep pass and Kindle Vildor was called for pass interference. Two Leonard Fournette runs and the Bucs had their first of many touchdowns. It took only 51 seconds.
From there the rout was on. The Bears’ offense again struggled to move the ball down the field. Meanwhile, the Bucs were running out of balls because whenever they scored they gave the ball away to the fans.
At halftime, the Bears found themselves down 35-3. There wasn’t a huge yard disparity, with Tampa amassing 223 yards and the Bears 155. However, Tampa’s average starting point on their drives was at their 49 while the Bears were on their own 27. Additionally, the Bears were 0-7 on third downs.
Third downs continue to be a sore spot for the Bears. They finished the game 2/11 on third downs. Also, three of their five turnovers came on third down. You cannot beat the Detroit Lions, let alone the Super Bowl champs with Tom Brady, doing that.
Can the Chicago Bears’ embarrassment continue to mount?
For the Bears, it was just another embarrassing showing. These bad losses are now mounting. This loss was the worst loss in the Matt Nagy era.
Nagy took pride in not only having close games but also winning them. In his first three seasons in Chicago, the Bears had 29 of their 48 games decided by seven points or less. In those close games, they won 18 of them.
This season, however, six of their seven games have been blowouts. The only tight game was against the Cincinnati Bengals. That game was on its way to being a blowout before the Bengals rallied late.
In those six blowout games, the Bears are 2-4. They are regressing. In their four losses, they’ve been outscored 122-37.
These are not the numbers of a coach who should feel comfortable about his job. In fact, with these numbers, Nagy has to worry about becoming the first Chicago Bears head coach to get fired in-season. The McCaskeys have never done that, but there should be conversations at the executive office about changing that.
We’ve seen the Bears ownership sit pat while everything around them was burning. The players quit early on in Marc Trestman’s second season in 2014. We saw the second-worst defense in the league that season. We also saw the defense give up back-to-back 50+ point games (even with a bye week in-between). Ironically, those two blowouts also involved Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady.
The situation is dire. The negativity surrounding this team is off the charts. Nagy has become a laughingstock around the league and a target of ridicule among the Chicago Bears fans.
Nagy says to trust him but that trust is gone
After the game, a reporter asked if Nagy if he was the guy who could turn this around. His response likely made Bears fans sick to their stomachs.
"Yeah, I am. I’m confident that our coaches and our players can [make] this better. We know any time you’re not scoring — we’re not running from that. We understand it.Trust me, we want to be able to get this thing going as best as we can."
No, Mr. Nagy, we cannot trust you anymore. We’ve entered Year 4 of your “offensive genius” yet we continue to see a struggling offense. Now, your ineptitude is causing the prized rookie, Justin Fields, to have problems.
Fields was responsible for all five of the Bears’ turnovers. He threw three interceptions and had three fumbles, losing two of them. This was his poorest outing this season.
If Nagy continues, the next coach who comes in next season will have to work harder to develop Fields. The young quarterback looked lost and again had to run for his life because of a porous offensive line. Again, the kid’s tools aren’t being utilized properly.
The time has come for the Chicago Bears to fire Nagy. They shouldn’t wait for things to get even worse. Things are bad enough now. Cut ties, then get on with the job of finding a good replacement who can mesh with Fields. The youngster is the future of the Bears. Hopefully, the future gets fulfilled.