Chicago Bears: Reasons for Firing Nagy on Display In Loss to Packers

In their Week 14 loss to the Green Bay Packers, all the reasons for head coach Matt Nagy’s firing were on full display.

Well, it happened once again. The Chicago Bears fell to the Green Bay Packers 45-30, suffering their sixth straight loss to their hated rivals. The good news is that they scored 30 points for the first time this season. The bad news is that they still lost by double digits.

Give credit to the Bears players. They came ready for a fight. They played keep away in the first quarter and held Aaron Rodgers and the vaunted Packers offense scoreless in the first quarter.

Things changed from that point, however.

Both teams went toe-to-toe in the second quarter. The Bears scored 24 points while the Packers scored 21. It was amazing to see the two teams go at it. It reminded people of the old days when the rivalry wasn’t one-sided.

However, we knew this wasn’t sustainable. The Bears had to keep Aaron Rodgers on the bench and go on long drives. Those drives had to finish with touchdowns. That didn’t happen, though, and the Packers overwhelmed Chicago in the second half.

After the first quarter ended, the Bears owned a 3-0 lead. From that point on, Green Bay scored 38 points between the second and third quarters. The Bears went on to score just three points the rest of the game. Overall, the Packers scored 24 straight points before that field goal hit late in the game.

Special teams came through

The Chicago Bears received a boost from their special teams unit. Jakeem Grant and Khalil Herbert both set up the Bears’ offense well. Grant averaged 43.7 yards per punt return, including running one 97 yards for a touchdown. For his part, Herbert averaged 25.6 yards per kickoff return.

The Bears’ offense had multiple occasions in which it started around midfield or in Green Bay territory. It was a pleasant change after seeing the unit struggle.

Cairo Santos was his dependable self again. He hit field goals of 23, 44, and 43 yards. However, hitting field goals wasn’t going to help the Bears defeat the Packers. Green Bay finished with six touchdowns and a field goal. Even on that drive, they could have scored a touchdown as they had the ball on the Bears’ two-yard line. With a 35-27 lead, they opted for the field goal.

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Nagy’s substandard coaching was on full display again

Once again, a big part of this loss came down to coaching. The Bears got into a slugfest with a team they shouldn’t. The Chicago Bears didn’t have the firepower to keep up with the Packers. It took the Bears four games to reach six touchdowns. For the Packers, all it took was less than 30 minutes.

While head coach Matt Nagy admitted that the first half was fun, it was no blueprint for a victory. Anyone with any sense would agree. After having three drives that totaled 22 minutes last week against the Arizona Cardinals, the longest drive they had against Green Bay was 4:47.

Nagy again showed all the reasons why he shouldn’t coach the team any longer. Again, he had a bad game plan. David Montgomery carried the ball 21 times for 90 yards and caught 8 passes for 51 yards last week. However, he only had 10 carries for 42 yards and 6 catches for 39 yards. Involving Montgomery more on the ground would run more of the clock. Why would Nagy not want to do that against Rodgers?

Additionally, Nagy didn’t make the in-game adjustments necessary to win. We saw the Packers do it and they dominated. Once again, Nagy showed he couldn’t change whatever game plan he prepared. It is crucial for those adjustments if any team wants to win a game.

Nagy also coached like he was scared. On the Bears’ second drive, they had the ball on the Packers’ 5. Instead of going for it on fourth down, he decided to go for a field goal. Again, field goals weren’t going to beat Rodgers. Later in the second quarter, the Packers were in that same situation, and down 10-0, they went for it and scored a touchdown.

Early in the fourth quarter, with about 13 minutes remaining, the Bears again faced a fourth down. They were down by 11 and it was fourth and inches. Instead of going for it, Nagy decided to punt the ball away. Rodgers then took the offense 71 yards and shaved almost 9 minutes off the clock and clinched the game.

Nagy called this game as if the Bears were fighting for a playoff spot and field position would win the game. At 4-8 entering the game, playoffs are an afterthought now. Because of that, Nagy needed to be more aggressive with his playcalling.

We saw in this game all the reasons why Nagy needs to be fired not at the end of the season but immediately. Will the Chicago Bears ownership do what is needed, or will they allow the clown show to continue through the end of the season?