A lot of people weren’t giving the Chicago Bears a chance to win on Sunday. They were going on the road against a Las Vegas Raiders team that was 3-1. The last two times the Bears had gone on the road, they were blown out by the Rams and Browns. So it was going to take a supreme effort to pull off a victory. That is exactly what head coach Matt Nagy got from his players as they stunned the Raiders 20-9 at Allegiant Stadium.
It wasn’t a pretty game. More of a classic Bears throwback. The defense dominated, sacking Derek Carr three times and forcing the Vegas offense into several mistakes. Offensively, the passing game was largely limited outside of a few great throws by Justin Fields including a TD to Jesper Horsted and a huge 3rd down conversion to Darnell Mooney. Then there was the running game where despite no David Montgomery they still racked up 145 yards on the ground. Rookie Khalil Herbert was outstanding.
Combine that with two clutch Cairo Santos field goals?
It was a true team victory. One that put the Bears above .500 for the first time this season and back into the NFC playoff picture. A place nobody thought they’d be after that debacle against the Browns two weeks ago. One person who deserves credit is Nagy himself. His ability to rally the troops has been consistent the past two years and he is proving it again now. For all the justifiable criticisms about his offense, there is no denying that man can motivate people. He knew it was a big win. You could tell just by watching him as he walked off the field.
That enthusiasm carried over into the post-game speech. After a fun Club Dub celebration, Nagy was all sorts of fired up as he congratulated the team as an “unbelievable” team win. One could even hear his voice going hoarse. A surefire sign of how emotional the moment was.
Subscribe to the BFR Youtube channel and ride shotgun with Dave and Ficky as they break down Bears football like nobody else.
Matt Nagy still has control of this team in spite of everything
There were genuine concerns that players might rebel if things continued as they were after Cleveland. To his credit, Nagy wasn’t going to let that happen. He made a series of unorthodox decisions to help get the team back on track. It started with handing the play call sheet to Bill Lazor, allowing him to focus more on head coaching duties. Then he took it a step further by asking the players themselves what they wanted to do on offense.
That seemed to strike a chord with many of them. The Bears started to run the ball more consistently. They utilized Fields under center and gave him play action opportunities. It wasn’t a pretty approach but it was an effective one. For the first time in years, it feels like the Bears have discovered an identity. Maybe not the one Matt Nagy wanted, but one that works. More importantly?
One that might save his job.
After a big win like that, suddenly the calls for Nagy to get fired have quieted. They haven’t gone away. It will take some time for that to happen, but fans at least have reasons to feel good about where the team is headed. The defense is dominating. Fields is making key plays. The running game is humming. If this keeps up, this team can make noise in January.
