After loss to Saints Bears Still Have More Questions Than Answers

Week 7 is officially a wrap, and the Bears are on a 2 game slid, sitting at 5-3 and a 0.5 game back of first place in the NFC North.

Things seemed to be different for this game in the beginning, though. The Bears entered halftime against the Saints with a 13-10 lead and a rushing attack that was gnawing away at the Saints LOS for four quarters. The line faced several injuries all game, with one to Massie and then Spriggs, but despite that, David Montgomery was finding his way around the field and Nick Foles was making solid completions to open receivers.

Anthony Miller was able to find his way back into the rotation with 3 catches for 20 yards and a key third down completion in the half. The Bears were clicking on all cylinders and a newly signed Dwayne Harris was making smart decisions to help the Bears field position. However, after being up 13-3, the Saints opened up with 20 unanswered points to lead the Bears 23-13 after the Bears would fail to score in the 3rd quarter. After a touchdown from Foles to Mooney, Santos will cement his role as the Bears starting kicker going forward with a clutch kick to send it into overtime. The Bears traded drives with the Saints after the Saints got the ball back in overtime but ultimately, missed opportunities, a costly sack accorded to Nick Foles and a penalty late in the OT would cost the Bears as they go down swinging, 26-23.

A Look On The Bright Side

Despite the loss, there is something the Bears can be proud of and it’s Allen Robinson, Anthony Miller, Darnell Mooney and David Montgomery. A-Rob caught 6 catches for 87 yards and a beautiful diving score that continues to make fans and pundits alike wonder, “why isn’t his contract extended yet?” After an abysmal past few games for Anthony Miller, he broke out with 11 targets, 8 receptions for 73 yards while Darnell Mooney hauled in an additional 63 yards. David Montgomery seemed to be held back by the inconsistent play of his offensive line during the last four games but found a way to get over 100 total yards from scrimmage despite the sloppy play of his QB. On the other side of the ball, Khalil Mack had another sack today, for the 4th game in a row, matching his streak total in his first year with the Bears. That, however, is where the praise for Bears ends.

When Bending But Not Breaking Goes Wrong…

The defense has stressed being a “bend but don’t break” team but failed to get enough pressure on Drew Brees and the Saints, gathering only 1 sack and 4 TFL. Alvin Kamara did not gather over 100 rushing yards himself, but as a team, they averaged over 4.3 yards-per-carry and a key 20-yard run in OT to secure the game winning kick. It appeared that at the half, the Bears had figured out a way to get this offense moving, David Montgomery and the beat-up offensive line were battling and the play calling from Matt Nagy was good enough to keep the Saints on their heels but as time went on, the Bears again failed to secure time-consuming drives to keep the Saints at bay.

Matt Nagy’s play-calling has been terrible yet intriguing; when the team is up, he calls plays as if they’re down by several scores’ aka abandoning the run and short throwing passes quickly to get up the field. The opposite then happens when they’re down; he calls plays as if they’re up, including running the ball when the clock was against them in the last 2 minutes of the 2nd half. It’s bewildering, if not infuriating, to watch the Bears have talent on both sides of the ball but fail to use in them in the most crucial moments.

Mitch, Please...

It gets worse. The takeover of Nick Foles to the QB position away from 2nd pick Mitchell Trubisky has not been what fans have expected from the Super Bowl MVP winner. He’s gone for 7 touchdowns (3 of them coming in the 4th quarter of his very first appearance as a Bear) and 7 interceptions since the Atlanta game and if not for a drop by Marcus Lattimore, he would have 8 interceptions on the league. While the offense was able to pass the 21-point threshold, his decision-making skills have been lacking, costing the Bears field position on two sacks that most know Trubisky would have escaped from. Many assumed the blame laid with Mitch and his underwhelming decision-making skills, but when you assess the play of them both at this point, people are starting to wonder why Foles still has the starting job. Including former Bear, Zach Miller, who tweeted a picture of him wearing a “Mitch Please” shirt seemingly in support of Mitch earning his job back. Akiem Hicks stressed at the end of the game that they are still an elite team, but with minimal adjustments being made on either side of the ball, most will feel that his belief does not match with reality.

- Joe

One More Question w/ Joseph Lewis

Akiem Hicks and Allen Robinson take a question from The Bigs Bears correspondent Joseph Lewis after 26-23 OT L to Saints.