With Nagy Gone, Bears' Defense Pulls Big Disappearing Act In Loss

Chicago IL

31 October, 2021

10:42 PM

Description

CHICAGO ­— Chicago Bears coach Matt Nagy was nowhere to be found on Sunday, quarantined away at an undisclosed, mystery location thanks to the NFL's COVID-19 protocols. Nagy's absence was big news, to be sure. Conspiracy-loving fans even hinted that it may allow the Bears to masquerade as a winning football team on a day that celebrates hiding one's true identity. But rather than treating fill-in coach Chris Tabor to a memorable first day on the job, the Bears defense pulled off the ultimate trick with a disappearing act for the ages in a loss that makes it seem like Nagy never left in the first place. A 33-22 loss to a 49ers team that had lost four straight games seems bad enough on the surface. But it was the way the Bears faltered that that may leave the worst taste in Tabor's mouth when he looks back on his first NFL chance to call all the shots. A Bears defense once considered elite, failed to force a turnover. A defense built around intimidating pass rushers never managed to get to 49ers quarterback and Rolling Meadows native Jimmy Garropolo once. A defense that limited the 49ers to three first-half field goals ended up surrendering 467 yards of offense and perhaps most importantly, allowed 18 fourth-quarter points in the Bears' third straight loss. Also remarkably lost on Sunday was rookie quarterback Justin Fields, who finally exhibited the playmaking ability the Bears envisioned when they traded up to draft him. Fields' Houdini-like, fourth-down scoring run put the Bears in a position to tie the game with under 10 minutes to play. But the combination of a Carlos Santos missed extra point and the Bears defense then allowing Garoppolo to move the 49ers down the field with ease erased any hopes of a Bears victory. Sunday's setback marked another missed opportunity to showcase what kind of team the Bears can be with Fields running the show, undeterred by Nagy's inept style of play-calling. Offensive coordinator Bill Lazor may have felt more at ease with his boss not glancing over his shoulder, which had been the case after Nagy tested positive for the coronavirus a week ago. But thanks to the defense, none of that mattered. On a day when promising scoring drives fizzled and led to field goals rather than touchdowns and a defense that has been hit hard both by injuries and trips to the COVID-19 injured reserve list went missing in action like the Bears' defense did on Sunday, no level of Fields' magic could have produced any other result than the one the Bears got. Eight games into the season, reality seems to indicate that this is who the Bears are: A team with a quickly rising quarterback with a declining defense. No one who was being completely honest expected great things from this team, but Fields' presence provided promise and perhaps suggested the Bears could return to the playoffs. But after the defense was a no-show in a very winnable game on Sunday, maybe Nagy's absence wasn't as big of a deal as people initially thought. The results sure as heck didn't change.