Chicago Bears: Is that laughter or tears after 6th straight loss?
By Ryan Heckman
Matt Nagy and the Chicago Bears lost their sixth game in a row Sunday, and things are going from bad to worse to, well, laughable.
With under three minutes to go, the Chicago Bears were up by 10 on the Detroit Lions. It had been a long time since their last win, and finally, they were about 150 seconds away from victory.
With 2:18 to go, Matthew Stafford hit Marvin Jones on a 25-yard strike to pull within three. On the following Bears possession, Mitchell Trubisky coughed up the football and the Lions scored seconds later. Just like that, a 10-point lead became a 4-point deficit — and ultimately, a sixth-straight loss.
The tables turned in a big way, and it was almost comical. Like Week 1 when the Bears pulled off a late comeback, the Lions returned the favor. Only this time, instead of Trubisky playing the hero, it was his fumble which proved mighty costly.
Now officially in a downward, never-ending spiral of six losses in a row, fans have no idea how they should feel. On one hand, this team isn’t going to do anything in the playoffs if they sneak in. So, they may as well play for the best possible first-round pick they possibly can. The collapse has been epic — hilarious in a way.
On the other hand, it’s pathetic. The way this season has turned for the Bears has a lot of fans upset, angry, and sure, sad. It’s quite the turn of events after a 5-1 start. Like some national outlets said a month and a half ago, this Bears team was, in fact, the worst 5-1 football team in NFL history.
Head coach Matt Nagy should know his impending fate by now. There is no chance he survives past early January. The six-game losing streak is enough to put a nail in his head coaching coffin here in Chicago.
The fact that Chicago’s defense has looked uninspired for a couple of weeks now should be one of the biggest clues that much of the team has quit on Nagy. There’s been a visual lack of passion and effort from several players, and a fourth quarter collapse just proves Nagy’s deficiencies in terms of his leadership.
Are you sad? Angry? Or is this some cruel, twisted type of entertainment? All emotions are acceptable at this point for Bears fans. The season has gone from inspiring and promising to being the laughing stock of major sports media.
There seems to be zero light at the end of the tunnel for this 2020 version of the Bears. The good majority of fans are looking ahead to 2021 — for what we hope includes plenty of major change.
Nagy needs to go. Ryan Pace needs to go. The entire coaching staff should be built from the ground-up. For now, though, fans can sit back and try to enjoy commiserating collectively.