LAKE FOREST, Ill. — On Nov. 21, 2021, the Chicago Bears suffered one of their ugliest losses under former coach Matt Nagy against the Baltimore Ravens at Soldier Field.
There were already plenty of signs that Nagy’s days in charge of the Bears would be ending soon.
But that game was bad.
Very, very bad.
Coming off their bye week, the Bears didn’t lose to star quarterback Lamar Jackson but backup Tyler Huntley, who was making his first career start. The worst part of the loss was that rookie quarterback Justin Fields injured his ribs and was ruled out in the third quarter. Veteran Andy Dalton played well in his place, including throwing a 49-yard touchdown pass to receiver Marquise Goodwin on fourth-and-11 to give the Bears a four-point lead in the final two minutes.
But the Bears defense couldn’t stop Huntley. Ravens running back Devonta Freeman scored with 22 seconds left for a 16-13 win. One aggravating aspect was how Nagy used his timeouts in the second half. He called his final timeout after Goodwin’s touchdown and before the Bears attempted a two-point conversion, which failed.
“You just keep fighting,” Nagy said after the game. “You keep believing in each other and you keep it real simple, and you never stop fighting. You know, that’s all you can do.”
That sounds familiar, right?
Coach Matt Eberflus is saying similar things after games and before practices at Halas Hall.
The Bears were booed during that loss to the Ravens. The fans also chanted to fire Nagy as the Bears lost their fifth consecutive game.
“I just understand that in the end, we all care a lot and we are all in this thing,” Nagy said then. “Of course, we want to do everything we can to win. So that’s our job to do that. I think that everyone is competitive and wants to see the Bears win, and that’s exactly what we want.”
Four days after losing to Baltimore, Nagy’s Bears defeated the Detroit Lions 16-14 on Thanksgiving. Dalton started in Fields’ place, and kicker Cairo Santos made a 28-yard field goal as time expired for the win.
The win didn’t matter much in the team’s final evaluation of Nagy, though. The Bears improved to 4-7, while the Lions fell to 0-10-1. The Bears lost three games in a row after that. Nagy and general manager Ryan Pace were fired after the season despite collaborating on the decision to trade up and draft Fields in the first round. Their bold move at quarterback didn’t save their jobs.
The final weeks of the 2021 season were long. An uneasy energy permeated the entire organization as changes felt inevitable. Nagy talked in circles after games and during the week. The only thing that mattered was Fields’ development.
Sounds familiar, right?
“Fire Flus” chants broke out during the Bears’ 19-3 loss to the New England Patriots at Soldier Field on Nov. 10. Then signs calling for his removal were seen behind the ring on WWE broadcasts.
On Sunday, team chairman George McCaskey — with team president Kevin Warren at his side — was booed during the halftime ceremony honoring Devin Hester for his Hall of Fame enshrinement. Then the Bears lost to the Packers on a blocked field goal as time expired.
When the Bears start losing in the court of public opinion while losing on the field, history says major changes will follow that season.
One could argue there is time left for Eberflus. The Bears are 4-6 with seven games remaining. They haven’t been mathematically eliminated from playoff contention. But 10 NFC teams have more wins than the Bears — and five of them are on the Bears’ schedule, including two games each against the Minnesota Vikings and Lions.
As it was in 2021 with Nagy and Fields — and as it was in 2017 with John Fox and Mitch Trubisky — the only thing that matters now is the development of the Bears’ rookie quarterback. They’re unlikely to be favored in another game this season.
Certain circumstances are different this year. Neither Trubisky nor Fields opened his rookie season as the starter as Caleb Williams did. And yet all three seasons have reached the same watershed moment for the organization. Every big-picture question asked about the Bears must entertain what’s next for Williams.
Can Eberflus save his job if Williams plays well and the Bears win enough games? Would new offensive coordinator Thomas Brown emerge as a potential head-coach candidate if his connection with Williams thrives over the second half of the season? Is there a scenario in which Brown is retained as Williams’ offensive coordinator by the Bears’ next head coach? Or does everyone go — including general manager Ryan Poles — after this season?
Unlike Eberflus, Brown has something to build on from Sunday. The loss to the Packers was Brown’s first as the Bears’ play caller. Williams and the Bears offense looked better and played better than it did against the Patriots, Arizona Cardinals and Washington Commanders under Shane Waldron.
Eberflus, though, hasn’t beaten the Packers. Despite Santos kicking his extra points from the right hash, Eberflus strongly stood by his decision to settle for the 46-yard field goal attempt from the left hash saying “there was not” a consideration to move the ball to the right.
“We feel good about our decision there,” Eberflus said.
Brown’s success is a positive in the moment that still has plenty of negatives attached to it. Eberflus and Poles hired Waldron over him. Waldron is also the eighth assistant coach Eberflus has dismissed in less than three seasons in charge of the Bears, if you include former defensive coordinator Alan Williams’ resignation last season.
There’s a familiar, inevitable feeling right now. It would take more than an upset of the Vikings to change it, too. We’re all seemingly watching a head coach in his final days in charge, while a rookie quarterback works to develop through the uncertainty. It’s what happened in 2017 and in 2021. It’s Chicago Bears football.
(Top photo: Michael Reaves / Getty Images)
