A sloppy 4th-and-1 failure encapsulates the Chicago Bears’ 10th loss this season: ‘That’s been the story of the year’

Late in the third quarter Monday night, with the Chicago Bears trying to capitalize on a drive that began at the Minnesota Vikings 30-yard line, the entire season was essentially summarized in one snap.

A few minutes earlier, running back Damien Williams tipped a Vikings punt, setting up prime field position for the offense. Trying to cut into a 17-3 deficit and get inside the red zone, the Bears faced fourth-and-1 from the 21.

In 8 seconds of familiar sloppiness, promise turned into agitation, hope into full-on annoyance.

A bit of confusion. Disrupted timing. A pass that never was thrown. Or a scramble that never began.

The play’s result: Quarterback Justin Fields was sacked for a 2-yard loss.

Thousands of mystified head shakes seemed to circle the Soldier Field stands like the wave.

Down went Fields, corralled along the right sideline by linebacker Nick Vigil, then wrestled to the grass by defensive end D.J. Wonnum. Turnover on downs.

More of this? Really?

That brand of discombobulation defined the entire night in a 17-9 Bears loss, the team’s eighth defeat in nine games.

“That’s been the story,” Fields said after the game. “That’s been the story of the year for sure.”

He’s not wrong.

On that fourth-and-1, there were plenty of rough edges. Start with receiver Darnell Mooney, assigned to be in the backfield on a play run out of a tight formation with three tight ends. Mooney had a flat route to the short side of the field but was admittedly a bit confused and a beat slow in getting aligned.

“It was a personnel grouping where I was a different receiver,” he said. “And the last name on the play I have to hear before I get into position. But literally everyone was running to the line of scrimmage and Justin was still calling the play. So I just got (the tag) at the end and went (quickly) to the right spot.”

The play design called for Fields to run a naked bootleg off play action with Mooney as his first read. But the play fake was out of sync. Then so was the entire play. And with the Vikings in a Cover-2 look, the chess match advantage the Bears hoped for didn’t exist.

“The corner sat on (the flat route) and he didn’t move,” Fields said.

For a moment, Mooney appeared open as he scurried out of the backfield to his right. Fields also had an option to eye Jimmy Graham farther downfield on an over route. The play, though, never clicked.

“At the perfect time when Mooney was open, I wasn’t looking,” Fields said. “When I looked back at him, he was covered. It’s just timing in football.”

Fields was quick to credit the Vikings for defending the play well.

“I mean, that’s football,” he said. “You win some, you lose some.”

The Bears’ “lose some” pile, however, always seems to be twice as high. That’s the only way to explain how they trailed for 50 minutes and 3 seconds despite outgaining the Vikings 370-193.

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It’s the only way to explain how an admirable effort by a decimated defense was squandered by an offensive showing that included two lost fumbles and three red-zone trips that ended without points.

It’s the only way to explain how the Bears now sit on the second-to-last rung in the NFC standings, tied with the New York Giants at 4-10.

And somehow, three more games remain.

Monday night’s smorgasbord of errors included three more penalties by rookie left tackle Teven Jenkins, another lost fumble by Fields, a 49-yard field-goal attempt by Cairo Santos that was blocked and, yes, even an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against Nagy, who blew his top after Deon Bush’s hit on tight end Tyler Conklin during a third-down stop in the first quarter was ruled unnecessary roughness.

“Our guys are fighting their asses off to get off the field,” Nagy said. “And I saw what happened. I explained my opinion on it. And I don’t regret it.”

For the second time this season, the officiating for the Bears in a Monday night game drew plenty of attention with no shortage of debatable calls. The Bears finished with nine penalties for 91 yards. But their overall failures run so much deeper than a few iffy penalty rulings.

For the fifth time this season, the offense failed to score a touchdown in the first half. The Bears are 0-5 in those games.

They also have been held below 17 points seven times this season, and their 17.8 points per game ranks 28th in the NFL.

The Bears’ only touchdown came on their 70th snap, a meaningless play as time ran out. Fields hit Jesper Horsted for 19 yards. Even that was originally ruled to be down a foot short of the goal line.

“It’s a frustrating situation,” Mooney said.

Sure, the Bears took the field with 14 players on the reserve/COVID-19 list, including all five of their defensive backfield starters plus receiver Allen Robinson. Offensive coordinator Bill Lazor and special teams coordinator Chris Tabor were also out.

That was a tough hand to be dealt. And given the circumstances, the Bears again played with competitive fire that thrilled their coach.

“It would be one thing if the team came out and just said, ‘You know what? We’re 4-9 and we’re just at a point where we’re going to check out,'” Nagy said. “Our guys don’t do that. That’s why you get emotional. That’s why you care. Because they put a lot of time and energy to come out here and play. I just like that about them.”

But that small plus hasn’t been nearly enough to make up for the nonstop offensive slog. Or the flurry of penalties. Or the poor decisions. Or the untimely turnovers. Or the mound of losses that has left the fan base in a sour mood.

In their penultimate home game of this season, the Bears again made a mess of too many situations. This team has been broken for some time now, and the most important repair work won’t begin until the 2022 offseason arrives.

In the meantime, the missed opportunities and on-field mistakes remain difficult to watch.