THERE’S NOTHING TO SEE HERE
Bears outclassed, uncompetitive in embarrassing offensive display
It’s not breaking news that the Bears were completely out of their league Sunday. In fact, there was no breaking news coming out of their 31- 3 loss to the Eagles, the best team in the NFL. No surprises from the Bears. Nothing out of the ordinary. An absence of anything that would make you get out of your recliner and take notice. No chance of the word ‘‘ wow’’ forming on your lips.
And that’s what was so damning about this game, this team and this head coach, John Fox. It was all so predictable. An unimaginative offensive game plan from coordinator Dowell Loggains was par for the course. Nine penalties were no surprise from a team that has looked undisciplined and unprepared too many times this season.
You had the expectation that somebody would do something, anything to make you smile? You must be new here.
The lack of a first down in the first half might seem mildly surprising. An NFL team should be able to move the ball 10 yards in four downs at least once in a half by accident. But it was mildly surprising only if you hadn’t watched the Bears’ offense operate this season.
There was a complete lack of progress from rookie quarterback Mitch Trubisky, and that was the worst thing— the only thing, really— about the afternoon. But even that wasn’t terribly surprising. Expecting him to succeed with a remedial game plan against a good defense was wishful thinking. He had some good passes but too many inaccurate ones. He threw two interceptions. The quarterback he aspires to be, the Eagles’ Carson-Wentz, threw three touchdown passes.
I’m not saying Trubisky has no chance of being-Wentz when he grows up. I am saying he’s miles away from getting there. And he’s going to need a lot of help from Bears general manager Ryan Pace, who only had to look at the Eagles’ roster to see howmuch his team is lacking in talent.
And Pace is going to have to wipe out this coaching staff if he’s serious about Trubisky becoming a great quarterback.
At halftime, the Eagles had 272 total yards to the Bears’ 33.
The Bears finished with six rushing yards on 14 carries. Or, translated: Are you kidding? ‘‘ I don’t like losing, and that’s a big motivator for me,’’ Trubisky said. ‘‘ You just get that sick feeling from it. Hopefully, a lot of those guys in the locker room feel the same way, and it motivates us to go back to work and get better for [ next week]. You go out there and get embarrassed, and you know you’re capable of better.’’
You’ve heard of a spread offense? After the game, Fox offered a spread defense of Trubisky.
‘‘ I don’t think you can look at one guy, including Mitch,’’ he said of the offensive failure. ‘‘ A lot of things go into the quarterback’s success, and we just were not good enough.’’
He’s right, of course, but remember that Fox said almost the same things about Mike Glennon, who was terrible.
The Eagles have total confidence in their offense, which is why they had a total lack of respect for the Bears’ defense. They went for it on fourth down four times. Their lone failure was on a fourth- and- six. They finished with 420 yards.
In good news, the Bears are 3- 8 and have a chance for a high first- round pick in the 2018 draft. In bad news, they still have the 1- 10 49ers and 0- 11 Browns left on their schedule. Both games are at Soldier Field. Figures.
Fox was asked if he ever had been through an ugly stretch like the one the Bears are in now, which includes a bad loss at home to the underdog Packers.
‘‘ I’ve been through a lot of seasons in this league, and there are a lot of seasons in life,’’ Fox said. ‘‘ This isn’t ideal, but how you get stronger is how you handle situations like this.’’
It sounded like he meant something there, but don’t ask me what it was.