The Chicago Bears took care of business on Sunday. They jumped to a 30-7 halftime lead against the Houston Texans and cruised the rest of the way. It was a nice afternoon for Bears fans after a brutal previous six weeks that saw their team lose in every way imaginable. One man who probably exhaled deeply was head coach Matt Nagy.
Nobody needed a win more than him. It was evident from all corners of the media that his seat was growing unbearably hot. To a point where the Bears were expected to clean house along with GM Ryan Pace. Beating Houston 36-7 surely will convince George McCaskey and ownership that he can still do his job and deserves more time, right?
Don’t be absurd.
Anybody with common sense knows taking a win like this seriously is dangerous. The Texans arrived in Chicago a dispirited and banged up football team. Deshaun Watson was missing his top three wide receivers. The defense couldn’t stop the run and struggled to rush the passer. This was a game the Bears should’ve won and they did.
This does nothing to erase their ugly losses the past two weeks against Green Bay and Detroit. Or the fact that Nagy continued to mismanage the game at certain points. Especially in the second half. Despite having a huge lead, the Bears continued to throw the football. David Montgomery, who had an 80-yard TD run on the first play of the game, didn’t touch the ball in the second half until early in the 4th quarter.
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Houston had a number of chances to get back into the game. They were just too bad to take advantage of them.
Matt Nagy has three games left to go
All of them are important. If the Bears lose any of them? The best they can finish will be 8-8. The exact same record as last season. Considering this team started at 5-1? It would be a difficult sell to convince ownership he deserves to come back for a fourth season. The only way he likely saves his job is by running the table to 9-7 and sneaking into the playoffs.
Is this possible? Sure. The Bears offense has played a lot better the past two weeks, topping 30 points against the Lions and now the Texans. Meanwhile, the defense racked up six sacks this week and gave up just seven points. So they can still be effective. Their remaining schedule isn’t insurmountable. They go into Minnesota next week against a Vikings team that just got thumped by Tampa Bay. Then it’s off to Jacksonville against the one-win Jaguars.
Last but not least is hosting Green Bay.
It isn’t an easy slate but it’s doable if the team continues to play the way it did against the Texans. If nothing else, Matt Nagy is proving the Bears haven’t quit on him. He’s still able to get them to play hard. It is playing efficiently that’s been their issue. They will need that if they want to overcome the odds.
Nagy is far from safe just yet. This win merely bought him a small reprieve.
