Ummmmm. Sooo. Yeah.
This is going to be a bit of a challenging homework assignment for Chicago Bears coach Matt Nagy over the next few days, the task of properly interpreting Saturday’s 41-15 butt-kicking by the Buffalo Bills at Soldier Field.
It was ugly. From start to finish. Across all three phases.
And while the “It’s only preseason” defense has plenty of validity, it can’t be used as an end-all alibi either. That leaves Nagy and his staff to find proper perspective on what went down Saturday, looking for explanations for the team’s overall sloppiness, seeking quick corrections as the regular season closes in and, most importantly, needing to update their overview of their quarterback situation.
A quick synopsis:
A Bears defense that has spent the last month expressing confidence in its ability to experience a major resurgence in 2021 was carved up for 280 yards and 34 points. In the first half. By none other than Bills backup Mitch Trubisky, the castoff quarterback who had quite the enjoyable day in somewhat odd return to Soldier Field.
Offensively, the Bears’ first four drives were an eyesore, bringing predictable boos for quarterback Andy Dalton. Before Dalton finally hit Rodney Adams with a 73-yard touchdown pass midway through the second quarter, the Bears had more penalties (two) than first downs (one) and were averaging just 2.8 yards per play.
On special teams, the Bears’ punt coverage again was a mess, most leaky when Bills receiver Marquez Stevenson sprung free for a 79-yard punt return touchdown in the second half. Even Cairo Santos had a point-after-touchdown attempt blocked.
Sure, preseason results are mostly trivial, often forgotten by the time the sun comes up. And it’s worth acknowledging that 10 projected Bears starters or key reserves didn’t play at all and a handful of others were done for the day before the first quarter ended.
But Nagy still emphasized that falling into a 28-point halftime hole was less than ideal.
“When it gets out of hand like that in the first half, you have to regroup,” he said.
Competition? Controversy? Conundrum?
Naturally, most of the fan base’s conversation in the coming days will revolve around the quarterback, uhhhh … what are we even calling it now? Is it a competition? A controversy? A conundrum?
Whatever the label, it has become abundantly clear that the majority of Bears fans want Dalton to step aside as the starting quarterback as soon as possible, clearing the stage for talented rookie Justin Fields to begin his ascent.
Dalton is human. So he heard the boos from his home crowd as the offense’s first-half struggles persisted.
“It’s part of it,” Dalton said. “They want to see a good product out there. I didn’t hear any boos after the touchdown pass I threw.”
Fields, meanwhile, acknowledged that his ears picked up the “We want Justin!” chants that bounced around Soldier Field before halftime. “Yeah,” he said. “I noticed it. Of course, our fans are awesome.”
At the very least, we don’t have to check either quarterback’s hearing even as a day-to-day evaluation of their progress intensifies.
Dalton’s performance Saturday was shaky. His deep-ball touchdown was beautiful, a well-placed shot up the right sideline against single coverage. “He gave me the chance to go up and get it,” Adams said.
But take that away and Dalton’s other six possessions produced no points. He was sacked twice and picked off in the final minute of the first half when Adams slipped coming out of his break.
“It’s unfortunate,” Dalton said. “There was a big window there for him to make a play.”
It didn’t help soothe the nerves of Bears fans that Trubisky was dialed in, throwing for 221 yards in the first half, leading four consecutive touchdown drives to open the game and finishing the half with a dime on a 16-yard completion to Jake Kumerow that set up Tyler Bass’s 41-yard field goal as time expired.
Fields (9-for-19, 80 yards, a 59.1 passer rating) was far from spectacular in the second half and certainly was not as impressive as he was in his preseason debut against the Dolphins. He also made a rookie mistake in the fourth quarter, failing to account for a blitz from Bills linebacker Andre Smith, who crushed Fields, sent his helmet flying and forced a fumble. A roughing-the-passer penalty negated the damage of that mistake. But it was a reminder that Fields must continue to work around his inexperience, especially after he produced only nine points on 34 plays over six second-half possessions.
‘That laser focus’
Yes, Nagy proclaimed once again Saturday that Dalton remains the team’s starter for Week 1 against the Los Angeles Rams, reminding everyone that the veteran quarterback’s preseason performance had to be contextualized properly. The Bears played without top receiver Allen Robinson, running back David Montgomery, tight end Cole Kmet and projected starting offensive tackles Germain Ifedi and Jason Peters.
Dalton might be owed the chance to show what he can do when the offense is much closer to whole.
“We have to see what can Andy do during the (regular) season with this team and with these guys,” Nagy said. “That has been our plan this whole entire time.”
Yet with each passing week, it seems as if Nagy is warming to the idea that Fields might be ready to start far earlier than projected. He said the Bears coaching staff is “super excited” with the way the rookie is playing.
“The one thing you notice with him is you get to game day and he really gets that laser focus,” Nagy said. “You feel that. … Are there some things he can get better at? For sure. That’s going to be (constant.) We’re going to say that three years from now. But at the same time, there are also things he’s doing better than we probably thought coming into this”
The next step
Were there highlights for the Bears on Saturday? Sure.
Adams, for example, scored the Bears’ first touchdown on that 73-yard reception late in the second quarter, a big play that came the day after he welcomed his first daughter, Brexleigh Michelle, into the world. Adams celebrated in the end zone by rocking the football like a newborn.
“Amazing isn’t even the word,” he said.
Undrafted rookie linebacker Caleb Johnson had two jump-over-the-bench dunks on the Bears “Takeaway Bucket” after his second-half fumble recoveries.
Kicker Brian Johnson — basically auditioning for opportunity elsewhere — nailed his 54-yard field-goal attempt in the fourth quarter.
And Fields? Well, despite leading the Bears to only nine points, he provided enough additional evidence of his playmaking prowess to keep the “He needs to start right away” crowd vocal and gaining momentum as September creeps up.
His best throw of the day was a 32-yard deep shot to tight end Jesse James in the third quarter, a knockoff of the 30-yard touchdown pass he hit to James against the Dolphins a week earlier.
Fields also turned four rushes into 46 yards, using his speed and vision to steer the Bears out of trouble on multiple occasions. His longest run covered 16 yards, on fourth-and-3 in the third quarter.
“How many times did we see where the pocket collapses and all of a sudden you say, ‘OK, here we go again,’ ” Nagy said. “He’s going to get outside to the edge and take off.”
Fields was asked whether he has a certain determination to change the coaching staff’s mind on the original timeline for his emergence as the starter but insisted he wouldn’t get caught up in such a mission.
“I’m not worried about any of that, to be honest with you,” he said. “I’m just worried about getting better every day. Everything will take care of itself.”
Dalton was asked whether he can feel a push intensifying from Fields for the QB1 designation but deflected it with an expression of his current confidence. “It’s the way that I feel like I’ve been handling this offense and leading this offense (during training camp),” Dalton said. “It’s just the guys — being around them in meetings and the huddle and what we’ve been able to do in practice.”
Dalton, of course, will have to produce in game settings to keep the confidence of his coaches and teammates and to earn at least some trust from Bears fans.
The team’s next visit to Soldier Field — for the home opener against the Bengals — is four weeks away. A lot can happen in between. As a team, the Bears must see Saturday’s blowout loss as a wake-up call, a reminder of all the uncertainty and instability they face. They must continue a search for answers.
And in the process of sizing up Fields’ readiness and comparing his value to the offense against Dalton’s, Nagy must ask himself when the rookie’s obvious talent and potential outweighs the mistakes he’ll inevitably make due to inexperience.
“That,” Nagy said, “is the million-dollar question.”
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