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The Bears turned things around on Sunday, beating the Lions 24-14. Coming off of that win, the Bears have moved up in the power rankings.
The Chicago Bears turned things around on Sunday, beating the Detroit Lions 24-14. Coming off of that divisional win, the Bears have moved up in the power rankings.
After Justin Fields’ first career win as a starter and another impressive showing from the defense, the Bears are in the best spot they can be going into a tough stretch on their schedule.
Bears quarterback Justin Fields had much better play-calling in his second NFL start. Will head coach Matt Nagy allow it to continue?
Last week, Bears rookie quarterback Justin Fields had his first NFL start, and it was an abject disaster. With head coach Matt Nagy as the play-caller, and Nagy waiting around for Andy Dalton to be healthy, and then finding out that Dalton wasn’t going to be able to go against the Browns, Fields was given a leaky boat full of anchors, and he responded accordingly. With one of the worst systems you’ll ever see for a young quarterback, Fields completed six of 20 passes for 68 yards. He was sacked nine times for 67 yards, which obviously left Fields with one net passing yard. Nagy refused to give Fields the benefits of play-action and pre-snap motion. He refused to acknowledge him as a runner. He refused to give him favorable route combinations at any level of the field.
It was a fireable offense. But the Bears as an organization have never fired a head coach in-season, and they’ve been around since 1920, so it wasn’t going to happen now. However, and quite fortunately, Nagy was convinced to hand over the play-calling duties to offensive coordinator Bill Lazor in Week 4 against the Lions. Fields’ day wasn’t perfect, but it was much better. He completed 11 of 17 passes for 209 yards, no touchdowns, one interception off a deflection, and just one sack — which Fields said after the game was on him.
Nagy has insisted that Dalton will be the no-matter-what starter when he’s healthy, and we all know that, and it makes no sense, but perhaps the most distressing thing about Nagy right now is his desperate need to claim credit for a win that would not have been possible had he not walked away from offensive play-calling duties.
“Yeah, so in regards to the play calling, Bill did a great job, and I think that at the same point in time, it’s important that we understand that I had to — I felt good out there as a head coach, and that’s real,” Nagy said after the game. “But we all get together. We talk through how we’re going to call the game, and we do that when I’m calling plays, too. Us as a staff, we get together. So I think that that’s important for everybody to know is that when we build a game plan together, whether it’s the offensive line coach with Juan or whether it’s our tight ends coach or wide receiver coach, et cetera, we do it together, and in the end, I get a great opportunity to say yes, I like this, or no, I don’t.
“As the head coach, right, in charge of all that, that’s real. When you do that now, I also go back to saying last week, right, or — last week was hey, whatever I need to do to try to be the best head coach for the Chicago Bears, whatever that is, I don’t care, I just want us to have the best opportunity to win, and I feel like Bill did a great job today. Our players did a great job. Our coaching staff did a great job, and we played collectively together as a team, not just players, not just coaches, everybody.
“When you have that, it’s a good feeling. So we’ll continue to just keep talking. We’ll continue to — but again, with all due respect, all due respect, this is going to be the last time I talk about it.”
Nagy was then asked whether Lazor would continue to call plays going forward, and that’s where he short-circuited. It’s an entirely reasonable question given the massive uptick in Fields’ performance with Lazor at the wheel, but he wasn’t having it.
“Like I said — you’re unbelievable. You try — listen, I hope you understand, I get it. I get it. I get it. But just know, like that’s it. No more with this.”
A confident coach would go out of his way to praise his offensive coordinator after a game like this. One of the reasons Nagy, the former Chiefs offensive coordinator, got this job in the first place is that Andy Reid has to be restrained from telling people how great his coaches are. But that’s the situation as it stands. We don’t know how long Fields will be the starter. We don’t know how long it will be before Nagy takes the call sheet over again. But for now, we can enjoy several examples of an offense that worked for a rookie quarterback coming off a disastrous first NFL start. While Nagy wants to keep this all on the QT, we’ll praise the difference with Lazor.
Because it was crushingly obvious. Let’s look at the big-time throws against the Lions to see what they tell us. Fields completed one pass of 20 or more air yards in three attempts for 21 yards before Sunday’s game. Against Detroit, he attempted six such passes, completing four for 151 yards. And they each tell a story of the successful partnership between Lazor and Fields.
From the Justin Fields-Darnell Mooney connection to the blow of losing David Montgomery, here are our takeaways from the Bears’ Week 4 win.
There’s nothing that cures the woes of a football team like playing the Detroit Lions. The Chicago Bears welcomed their division rival to town on Sunday and promptly got to work, scoring a touchdown on their opening drive and never looking back, winning 24-14 to improve to 2-2 on the season.
Rookie quarterback Justin Fields once again got the start in place of an injured Andy Dalton and he was clearly able to shake off last week’s dreadful performance. Fields was sharp and explosive, putting the Bears in prime scoring positions all game long.
On defense, Chicago’s front seven continued to bully offensive lines, getting to quarterback Jared Goff 4 times and creating 2 turnovers. Though the Lions were able to move the ball throughout the day, the defense clamped up when it mattered most to limit the Lions to just 14 points.
It was a feel-good game for everyone involved with the Bears, but this team still has a long ways to go if they want to be considered a true playoff contender. Here are my takeaways from Sunday’s victory.
Bears rookie Justin Fields noted a big difference between Matt Nagy and Bill Lazor calling plays.
To the shock of Bears fans everything, the offense looked competent from the start in Sunday’s win over the Lions.
The reason? Head coach Matt Nagy handed play-calling duties over to offensive coordinator Bill Lazor — for the second time in the last year.
While Nagy was intent on keeping the play caller under wraps, due to whatever advantage he thought he was getting, it was pretty obvious following Chicago’s first drive of the game.
The Bears marched 75 yards down the field in 12 plays — including nine runs — for a David Montgomery touchdown. But it was in the eye test. The offense found a rhythm it lacked since last season — the last time Nagy handed over play calling to Lazor.
Rookie quarterback Justin Fields was a direct beneficiary of the change, where he had a gameplan that catered to his strengths and allowed him time to take some deep shots and connect on them.
When Fields was asked Lazor calling plays, he noted a big difference between Lazor and Nagy.
“You know, Bill, he’s up in the box, so his voice is always calm,” Fields said. “That’s the one thing I like. Coach (Nagy), it’s hard for him to be calm if he has focus on the defense, focus on special teams. (Lazor’s) voice is calm. He’s up there in the box seeing the field well and he did a great job calling plays today.”
While Fields did his best not to throw Nagy under the bus, his comments were quite telling. Fields liked the calmness of Lazor’s delivery compared to the wildness of Nagy, whose first obligation should be to serve as head coach, not an offensive play caller.
It’s safe to assume Lazor will be the play caller moving forward following Sunday’s performance. The hope is it’ll once again be Fields under center, although Nagy appears determined for it to be Andy Dalton.
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It took one drive for Bears fans to know it was Bill Lazor was calling plays.
Matt Nagy spent the entire week keeping his lips sealed about the Bears’ play caller. But it took one drive to confirm what we all suspected: Nagy had handed over play-calling duties to offensive coordinator Bill Lazor.
The first sign was the rhythm present on offense that hadn’t been there all season. Sure, they were playing the Lions. But there was no guarantee the offense would look like that with Nagy calling plays.
The Bears offense scored touchdowns on their first two drives, where there was a nice balance of run and pass. Running back David Montgomery led the way, scoring both touchdowns, and rookie Justin Fields was put in favorable positions that allows him to open up the downfield passing game.
“In regards to the play calling, Bill did a great job,” Nagy said.
Bill Lazor called plays. Matt Nagy said everything with the offense still goes through the head coach, though.
— Patrick Finley (@patrickfinley) October 3, 2021
The main takeaway here is that Nagy never should’ve taken back play-calling duties after last season, where Lazor had the Bears offense jelling. Let’s hope Nagy has learned his lesson and lets Lazor continue to call plays on offense. Especially if it’s going to be Fields starting.
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The Bears bounced back from an embarrassing Week 3 loss with a 21-0 win against the Lions. We recap the victory.
The Chicago Bears bounced back from an embarrassing Week 3 loss with a 21-0 win against the Detroit Lions. Everything was going their way, with the rushing game carrying them to victory.
The offense showed up, big time, and the defense wasn’t forced to keep them in the game. The lack of pressure on the defense helped the Bears play their best game of the season as a team.
Here are a few duds and plenty of studs from the Bears’ Week 4 win over the Lions.
Following a brutal Week 3 loss, the Chicago Bears responded with a needed win over their division rivals with a 24-14 win over the Detroit Lions, where the offense and defense both contributed in the victory.
Rookie quarterback Justin Fields made his second NFL start, and it went much better than his first, where he found receivers Allen Robinson and Darnell Mooney often. Running back David Montgomery led the way on the ground with his first 100-yard game against the Lions, but he did exit with a knee injury.
Meanwhile, the defense bent but didn’t break in this game, where they had two takeaways, four sacks and gave up just 14 second-half points. Robert Quinn and Khalil Mack recorded one sack apiece in the victory.
Here are a few duds and plenty of studs from the Bears’ Week 4 win over the Lions.
The Bears look like a completely different offense from a week ago, and that’s because it looks like Bill Lazor is now calling plays.
The Chicago Bears look like a completely different offense from a week ago. Sure, they were playing a better defense in the Cleveland Browns. But it’s been more than that. There’s been a rhythm on offense not present since late last season.
While Bears head coach Matt Nagy refused to say who would be calling plays against the Lions, it’s clear to Bears fans and football observers that this is not a Matt Nagy offense. It looks like it’s Bears offensive coordinator Bill Lazor calling plays.
Chicago’s offense looked impressive in the first half, scoring on their first two drives of the game. There’s been a nice balance of run and pass, where rookie quarterback Justin Fields has been given chances to go deep with the ball, including a beautiful 64-yard pass to receiver Darnell Mooney. Heck, running back David Montgomery even got 15 carries — in the first half.
Safe to say Lazor has been a success early.
One week after one of the worst game plans you’ll ever see for a young quarterback, Justin Fields is help from his coaches.
Last week against the Browns, the Bears’ offense was an absolute disaster. Rookie quarterback Justin Fields, who started on short notice due to Andy Dalton’s injury status, walked into that game with no help whatsoever from head coach Matt Nagy and his offensive staff. The result was a 26-6 thrashing by the Browns, Fields completed six of 20 passes for 68 yards, no touchdowns, no interceptions, nine sacks for 67 lost yards, and a quarterback rating of 41.2.
Nagy refused to help Fields with pre-snap motion, extra protection, designed runs, or under-center play-action despite the fact that Fields was primarily an under-center quarterback at Ohio State. It was one of the worst game plans you’ll ever see a coach and a staff put together for a young quarterback, and the blame rested entirely on Nagy’s shoulders.
Fast-forward to Sunday’s game against the Lions, and the Bears actually scored on their opening drive with a 12-play, 75-yard drive that was run-heavy with David Montgomery, but had this 21-yard pass from Fields to receiver Darnell Mooney, and on this play, you saw a lot of what you’d like to see from the Bears’ offense with Fields in the game.
Here, you have pre-snap motion from tight end Cole Kmet, which not only gives Fields the indicator for zone defense, but also aligns Kmet as an extra in-line blocker. With extra time in the pocket, and Mooney running an over through Detroit’s zone, it’s pitch-and-catch for quarterback and target, even if Mooney has to elongate his reach to catch the ball.
That is how you help Justin Fields!!
Justin Fields to Darnell Mooney for 21 yards 👌pic.twitter.com/t6QrncTKvZ
— BearsNationCP (@CpBears) October 3, 2021
There’s been a lot of speculation as to whether Nagy or offensive coordinator Bill Lazor would be calling plays against the Lions, and early on, it appears that Lazor is more in charge — which Bears fans have wanted for quite a while.
Matt Nagy has the playcard in his hand but doesn't seem to be looking down for each call. He's locked in with the action on the field. It seems Bill Lazor is the Bears' play caller today.
— Chris Emma (@CEmma670) October 3, 2021
Whoever’s in charge now, it’s definitely working. On the Bears’ second drive, Fields hit Mooney for this 64-yard play.
Moonshot. 🎯 @justnfields hits @Darnell_M1 for 64 yds!#DETvsCHI | #DaBears pic.twitter.com/gZmHHI9mfq
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) October 3, 2021
This is not our first rodeo with the Bears, whose quarterbacks tend to look like Hall-of-Famers against the Lions, but Fields has the ability to make things better if he’s given half a chance.
Here’s a rundown of what we know heading into Sunday’s game against the Lions.
The Chicago Bears will battle the Detroit Loons, where Chicago is looking to rebound with a win following a brutal Week 3 loss.
The Bears are coming off an embarrassing offensive showing against the Cleveland Browns, where they totaled just 47 yards of offense and subjected rookie Justin Fields to pressure in his first NFL start to the tune of 9.0 sacks. But the defense did keep them in the game longer than they should’ve been, which is encouraging heading into Week 4.
Here’s a rundown of what we know heading into Sunday’s game against the Lions:
