The Chicago Bears fell to the Cleveland Browns 26-6 on Sunday afternoon.
With the defeat, Chicago sits at 1-2 on the year – but that’s the least of the Bears' problems.
Making his first career start, rookie quarterback Justin Fields struggled badly in place of an injured Andy Dalton. With Fields at the helm, the Bears mustered a mere 47 yards and six first downs on the day.
Fields finished the game 6-of-20 for 68 yards. The Bears' most impressive accomplishment on Sunday was a pass-interference call that wiped out a pick and earned them 48 yards.
Not great.
And if that wasn’t bad enough, third-string quarterback Nick Foles was captured on camera bad-mouthing Fields amid his struggles.
When it rains, it pours.
“Offense just isn’t working,” Foles could be seen saying.
Some online believe Foles started the statement with the word “Matt,” suggesting he was actually bad-mouthing head coach Matt Nagy. While that’s certainly possible, even if that were the interpretation, it’s still not a great reflection on Fields.
After the game, Nagy admitted that his team was a mess on Sunday.
“You almost can’t make it up,” he said, per Adam Hoge of NBC Chicago. “It was that bad.”
This has been a rough year for the Bears. When Dalton was announced as Chicago's starter, members of both the offense and defense openly mocked the decision. The hope was that Fields would be able to come in sooner rather than later and right the ship – but clearly his development is going to take some time as well.
Should things continue down this path, don’t be shocked if you start hearing the Bears resurface as a frontrunner to make a blockbuster quarterback trade. Because if they don’t, Nagy’s likely going to get fired before season’s end.
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