The Chicago Bears have lost their past two games after a 3-1 start. Suddenly a team that was first in the NFC North is right back where they started in last place. So who’s to blame? Well if people ask the social media world, they’ve been pointed mostly in one direction towards quarterback Mitch Trubisky. He’s missing a lot of easy throws. He has some bad interceptions. It’s all on him.
No. No, it isn’t. Bears fans are a traditional bunch. They’ve grown so used to blaming the quarterback for the team’s issues over several decades that it’s become ingrained in their DNA. Well, it’s time that stopped because the reality is different this time. While the offense hasn’t been perfect, it’s been the one part of the team keeping them in games.
It’s the defense and special teams that have let the Bears down the past two weeks. The defense allowed 541 total yards and 31 points last week in Miami. This week they allowed 381 yards and 24 points to the Patriots at home. That was further compounded by the special teams allowing a kickoff return and blocked punt for touchdowns.
The offense scored 28 and 31 points respectively in those games, but sure they’re the reason this team has gotten stuck in the mud.
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Vic Fangio deserves some blame for Chicago Bears issues
One of the most baffling situations has been centered around defensive coordinator Vic Fangio. While he’s one of the best at his job in the NFL, his work the past couple weeks has been subpar. The biggest issue has been his stubborn decision to constantly drop his edge rushers Leonard Floyd and Khalil Mack into coverage and instead of doing what they’re getting paid to do.
The Bears defense has one sack in two weeks and that came on a blitz by Roquan Smith. That begs a further question. If Fangio has known his rushers are ailing (Floyd has a broken hand and Mack has an injured ankle) then why hasn’t he started to dial up more pressure? It’s the responsibility of the coaches to manufacture heat however possible. Even if that means sending extra men.
Instead Fangio has stuck to the style he used the first four games of sending four (or even three) and dropping extra bodies in coverage. It’s not working and until Mack regains his old form it probably won’t work. Fangio either needs to accept that or head coach Matt Nagy has to force him to adjust. What he’s doing now isn’t working and it’s costing the team wins.
The Bears have now allowed 7 pass plays of 40+ yards, tied with the Rams, Dolphins, Vikings and Raiders for most in the league.
The Bears' defense allowed 8 passing plays of 40+ yards in the entire 2017 season.
— Kevin Fishbain (@kfishbain) October 21, 2018
The same goes for his players.
They have wilted late in the game two weeks in a row when they had a chance to get a stop. Last week they had a 7-point lead with three minutes left in the fourth quarter and gave up a touchdown. This week they could’ve forced a three-and-out with four minutes left in the game to get their offense one more chance to tie it. The Patriots did eventually punt, but only after getting two huge first downs to drain away the clock.
“Elite” defenses don’t let stuff like that happen. They better get it fixed.
