It is becoming pretty apparent at this point. Matt Nagy can’t beat good teams. Not when it matters. Once again the Chicago Bears had a chance to seize control of the division in a big game against a quality opponent. Once again they failed to execute in critical moments. This is something fans have seen way too many times. Now they’ve just gone through their sixth game of the season without scoring three touchdowns.
What else is there to see from Nagy at this point? The man had a great first year in Chicago. He went 12-4 thanks to a great defense and a steady running game. Every year since has been excruciating to watch. It is the same movie over and over. Bears defense plays well enough to make the playoffs. The offense holds them back. Nagy takes advantage of a weak point in the schedule to avoid a losing record.
Repeat.
At the heart of this is the progress of Justin Fields. He’s had some nice moments to be sure. He had 171 yards passing, 43 rushing, a TD pass, and an INT against Green Bay. There were obvious mistakes and learning moments. Yet he still gave the team a chance to win in the 4th quarter. This despite what felt like an offensive system that continues to work against him. That falls on Nagy. How much longer do fans have to put up with this?
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This will live rent free in my head for weeks if the #Bears lose this game pic.twitter.com/d5FWnjtjCW
— Jacob Infante (@jacobinfante24) October 17, 2021
Matt Nagy has too many cons and not enough pros
Offensive ineptitude
What else is there to say. Another game failing to get Justin Fields over 200 yards passing thanks in large part to a system that seems incapable of giving him easy completions. Every throw he makes feels like a challenge. Then there is the poor execution. Ill-timed penalties, dropped passes, receivers running the wrong routes, and so on. That isn’t indicative of bad talent. That speaks to poor coaching. Execution is the buzzword in such situations. Nagy routinely is unable to get his offense to execute at even a medium level. Never mind a high one. His offense is dead last in almost every ranking so far this year.
This was the 27th time the Bears have scored 20 or fewer points in Matt Nagy's 56 games as head coach (counting playoffs).
— Jason Lieser (@JasonLieser) October 17, 2021
Bad game management
Stop if you’ve heard this before. Taking unnecessary timeouts when players aren’t lined up correctly or can’t get off the field in time. Taking a delay of game despite coming off said timeouts. Poor clock management. Bad personnel usage. Questionable challenges. Nagy is a maestro of these things going back years and this game was no exception. It covered every single one of those things and more. People like to say Nagy is a better head coach than offensive coordinator. Is he? Sure he can motivate guys to play hard. Yet his responsibilities go beyond that. Responsibilities he can’t handle well.
With that 24-14 loss, the Bears are now 3-20 against the Packers in the past 23 meetings. They are 3-3 on the year and head on the road next week to face the defending champion Buccaneers.
— Kevin Fishbain (@kfishbain) October 17, 2021
Packers inferiority
This is the stat that will probably end up getting Matt Nagy fired. Having a pedestrian season the past three years is one thing. Being 1-6 against the Green Bay Packers during your coaching tenure? That is an express line to a pink slip. Ask Dick Jauron, Marc Trestman, and Jon Fox. The McCaskey family does not like losing to the Packers. That Nagy has continued to find different ways to do so is frustrating beyond belief. He doesn’t understand the magnitude of what this rivalry means. Or if he does, he just doesn’t have the capability of making the Bears more competitive.
Being a good locker room leader is fine. It takes more than that to create a championship team. Scoring points is one way to start. Minimizing mistakes. Good execution. All of these things Matt Nagy can’t seem to get out of this team. What else is there to see?
