The Chicago Bears just assembled one of the worst offensive performances in recent memory, falling to the Cleveland Browns, 26-6. The Bears averaged a ridiculously low 1.1 yards per play in the loss, which was the second-fewest by any NFL team in a game this century, per NFL on CBS.
It was the first-ever start for rookie quarterback Justin Fields, who was pressured on every offensive series by Myles Garrett and company. The rookie QB completed just 6 of 20 passes for 68 yards while losing 67 yards on sacks (he was sacked a whopping nine times). Fans and analysts alike panned Bears head coach Matt Nagy, who is the offensive play-caller, for his complete inability to tailor a game plan around the strengths of his mobile and athletic young QB.
Nagy’s game plan for Fields was a total disaster, and it appears his own players can see that better than their own coach can.
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Nick Foles Caught on Camera Saying Bears Offense ‘Isn’t Working’
Instead of rolling Fields out and weaving in some designed run plays, Nagy continuously called on Fields to drop back, which was an obviously unsuccessful formula that the Bears head coach stubbornly stuck with the entire game without making any adjustments:
Justin Fields starting debut:
30 dropbacks
4 using pre-snap motion
2 using max protection
2 designed rollouts
2 designed QB runs
🤷♂️
In what appeared to be a candid a moment on the sidelines, quarterback Nick Foles, who was backing up Fields, was seen saying what looked a whole lot like: “Matt’s offense just isn’t working,“ to an injured Andy Dalton, who stood beside him in street clothes.
Originally shared by Twitter user and presumed Bears fan Cody B, you can watch for yourself below:
Nick Foles “offense just isn’t working”
While there’s no audio to accompany the video, it looks fairly obvious what Foles said, and the video made the rounds on Bears Twitter. It was an honest observation from one veteran QB to another, and it’s a damning assessment of Nagy’s offensive scheme and design.
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It Was Clear Last Season Foles Had Some Issues With Nagy’s Offense
This isn’t the first time Foles has voiced concern about Nagy’s offense and play-calling. During a Bears’ game against the L.A. Rams last October, Monday Night Football commentator Brian Griese said the following on air about a conversation he had with Foles about the Bears’ offense:
“I was talking to Nick Foles yesterday, and he said: ‘Sometimes, play calls come in, and I know that I don’t have time to execute that play call, and I’m the one out here getting hit.’ Sometimes the guy calling the plays, Matt Nagy, he doesn’t know how much time there is back here, and so that’s something that they have to get worked out.”
Foles later said Griese’s comments were a “miscommunication,” but the veteran QB also had an animated exchange with Nagy on the sideline a few weeks before that:
I never saw Mitch Trubisky challenge his coach like this. Nick Foles has the respect of his teammates and coaches to argue with Nagy when he’s being stubborn.
Foles also has IQ and command of the offense to tell his teammates and coaches what he sees and what he wants to call.
Adam Hoge of NBC Sports revealed there had been frustration coming from Foles, who at one point during a game against Tampa Bay Week 5 last season, got annoyed when Nagy called a timeout in the red zone during a drive Foles had been going no-huddle in. Foles had the offense moving, until the timeout, which killed momentum.
“The cameras even caught Foles shaking his head as he looked to the Bears sideline, clearly not pleased that Nagy wanted to huddle,” Hoge reported.
Thus, it seems pretty clear to just about everyone other than Matt Nagy how inept his offense continues to be. Whether the Bears coach will change anything at all before he loses his job remains to be seen.
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VIDEO: Nick Foles Appears to Diss Bears Offense in Candid Moment