Zero Thought: Matt Nagy's Play-Calling Questioned In Bears Loss

A week ago, Bears coach Matt Nagy insisted he isn't an idiot when presented with the notion that his team needed to run the ball more than it did in a loss to the Saints.

But on Sunday, after the Bears running game showed more promise against the Chargers than it had perhaps all season, Nagy's play-calling abilities were again called into question when he elected to take a knee on first down in the final minute to set up a potential game-winning field goal attempt by Eddy Pineiro.

Rather than attempt to advance the ball with 43 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter and provide Pineiro with a closer shot, Nagy - the NFL's reigning Coach of the Year - instructed quarterback Mitchell Trubisky to simply drop to one knee and set Pineiro up for the kick.

The only problem? Pineiro pushed his 41-yard attempt wide left, which allowed the Chargers to escape with a 17-16 victory and drop the defending NFC North Division champions into last place with a 3-4 record.

Afterward, Nagy insisted the thought of either running the ball or setting up a pass play to draw Pineiro closer never crossed his mind. When asked if his choice showed an unintended lack of faith in his offense, which ran for 162 yards and gained 388 yards overall in the loss, Nagy laughed off the assertion and simply said, 'No' before his voice trailed off.

Instead, Nagy defended the choice to say that a run could either lead to a fumble or a loss of yardage and then questioned an inquiry by a reporter about attempting a pass play, saying that option could either lead to a sack or fumble that could then, in turn, lead to a loss.

And yet, Nagy decided to hold his ground, which led to the Pineiro miss and a loss.

Despite Trubisky turning the ball over twice, the Bears latest loss wasn't on the third-year quarterback, who became Pubic Enemy No. 1 after last week's loss to the Saints.

Pineiro, who delivered a game-winning field goal earlier this season against the Broncos, went 3-for-5 on Sunday, including the last-season miss and an attempted he bounced off the upright earlier in the game. And yet, to pin it on a kicker who won an offseason open competition for the starting job, doesn't seem entirely feasible, either, although Pineiro did just that.

"My fault," Pineiro told reporters on Sunday. "I lost the game."

A week after saying he wouldn't relinquish his offensive play-calling duties, Nagy again attempted to convince reporters that his decision-making in the final minute was on-point and that he did what he needed to do to best set the Bears up for a much-needed victory.

But when Pineiro's miss spoiled Nagy's best-laid plans, Nagy characterized any questioning into his thinking as a hypothetical series of 'what-ifs' and ultimately decided that it was a waste of time to even talk about it.

"I'll just be brutally clear," Nagy said. "Zero thought of throwing the football, zero thought of running the football. You understand me? That's exactly what it was. It's as simple as that."

Meanwhile, Trubisky defended his coach's choice, and echoed Nagy's sentiments that the Bears were already in field goal range.

"It's coach's call," Trubisky told reporters after his quarterback scramble put the Bears into position for the win before Nagy decided the Bears were close enough. "He knows what is best for the team."

Following a second straight loss at home and the Bears' third straight overall, Nagy again repeated what he did a week ago when he said that the best thing his team can do right now is to avoid outside noise. Yet, a loss to the Chargers - who entered Sunday's game with a 2-5 record and who missed their fair share of scoring chances on Sunday - certainly won't do anything to diminish the chatter publicly.

Rather, it will only pump up the volume and add to the number of questions surrounding Nagy's game management skills Trubisky's ability to lead an offense that is far from potent.

Trubisky told reporters that there is still plenty of time for the Bears to turn things around after putting themselves in the unenviable position of trying to make up serious ground in the NFC North with nine games remaining in the season.

But for all of the positivity that seems to exist inside a locker room that was, a year ago, dubbed 'Club Dub' to go along with the Bears' propensity for piling up victories, Nagy and the Bears appear in serious need of a reality check.

"It's a frustrating time right now," Nagy told reporters. "You have to accept that. We accept it, but we can't dwell on it...as rough as three losses in a row is, what do we do to rally?"

So many questions.