Three games into the 2018 NFL season and the Chicago Bears offense has yet to hit its stride under Matt Nagy. The first-year head coach arrived in Chicago hailed as an innovative offensive mind whose scheme and aggressive nature would lead the Bears’ offense out of the muck and into the new millennium. Instead, you can find Chicago’s offensive rankings in a familiar place, particularly in passing (28th) and total offense (26th). Yuck.
And while that’s nowhere near where anyone thought this group would be, Nagy believes good times are still to come:
Bears HC Matt Nagy on his eagerness for QB Mitch Trubisky to make winning plays instead of just have a great demeanor: “I know people don’t understand this: It takes time. We *will* get this.”
— Rich Campbell (@Rich_Campbell) September 24, 2018
Mitch Trubisky’s Week 3 performance was maddening, frustrating, irritating, and other words I’d prefer not to type out on this page. And yet, the Bears still won … thanks in part to Trubisky.
With the Bears facing a 14-3 deficit, Eddie Jackson came up with an interception of a Sam Bradford pass that put the ball in Trubisky’s hands needing to go 67 yards to score a touchdown to really get the team back into it. And that’s exactly what happened.
The scoring drive was a surprise, to be sure, but a welcome one if you think about the lack of faith in Trubisky heading into that series. Trubisky’s previous two drives ended in an interception and a punt after a three-and-out. But Trubisky was able to put that behind him as he led a nine-play scoring drive is a snapshot of what the Bears’ offense is supposed to look like. A balanced attack that featured five passes and four rushes. There was a 39-yard pass from Trubisky to Allen Robinson that helped stretch the field vertically, tough runs from Jordan Howard and Tarik Cohen, a fourth-down conversion on a shovel pass, and ultimately a 1-yard touchdown plunge from Howard to cap it off.
Trubisky went 4 for 5 for 54 yards on a drive that captures exactly what Nagy believes the Bears offense will be once the unit puts it all together. It was also the type of drive that has you screaming about “where the heck was that during the first half!?” from your couch. (What, just me?)
For now, the defense is doing its part to buy their offensive counterparts time to get things going in the right direction. And by the looks of things, that group needs all the help it can get in order to get up to speed.