The 3-7 Chicago Bears are heading into Thursday’s NFL game with the Detroit Lions in a crisis.
A five-game losing run has effectively ended any hope of returning to the play-offs this year and head coach Matt Nagy is undoubtedly on the hot seat.
Speculation surrounding his future intensified on Tuesday, with rumours circulating that the 43-year-old will be fired after Thursday’s game in Detroit.
Nagy denied that the story was true, describing the reports as ‘not accurate’ during his press conference at Halas Hall on Tuesday.
Even if Nagy stays in his role beyond Thursday, it will only be delaying the inevitable.
Justin Fields gives the Chicago Bears hope for the future
Although the Bears are no strangers to mediocrity in recent years, there are genuine reasons to believe that the future will be a lot brighter.
The Monsters of the Midway have historically been known for having a strong defence, while lacking the offensive talent to be a championship contender.
When Andy Dalton arrived in free agency, many fans in Chicago were left feeling unenthusiastic about a quarterback duo of Dalton and Nick Foles.
Disappointment turned into jubilation when they traded up with the New York Giants to select Justin Fields from Ohio State in the first round of the 2021 draft.
The Bears been starved of a true franchise quarterback for many years, with an astonishing 25 starters at the position over the past two decades.
Jay Cutler and Mitchell Trubisky both showed glimpses of why the Bears gave up high draft picks to acquire them, but ultimately, they weren’t consistent enough.
It was a shock to everyone when Fields fell far enough in the draft for the Bears to make the trade up; most mock drafts had him being taken in the top 10 picks.
Throughout training camp, all eyes were on the rookie quarterback and there were calls for him to start before Dalton had even played a game for the team.
Fields usurping Andy Dalton as starting quarterback
Head coach Nagy and general manager Ryan Pace remained adamant that Dalton was signed to be the starter.
Dalton started the first game of the season, an uninspiring 34-14 defeat away to the Los Angeles Rams, throwing for 206 yards, no touchdowns and an interception.
A week later, Chicago hosted Dalton’s former team, the Cincinnati Bengals. Dalton got injured in the second quarter and despite trying to play on, he was replaced by Fields for the second half.
Since the game against Cincinnati, the rookie has remained the starting quarterback in the ‘Windy City’.
While the team’s 3-7 record doesn’t look good on paper, growing pains are common for most young quarterbacks.
The 22-year-old has made encouraging progress in recent weeks, despite his team’s five-game skid.
His 22-yard touchdown run against the 49ers in week eight displayed how quick and evasive he can be.
He made multiple defenders miss him before getting a key block from Jason Peters to guide him into the end zone.
A week later, with less than two minutes to go in a close game with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Fields led his side on a 75-yard drive which resulted in a touchdown pass to Darnell Mooney.
Pittsburgh responded with a field goal that proved to be the game winner, but the performance from Fields mattered more than the outcome of one game.
Fields left Sunday’s game against Baltimore with an injury to his ribs and has been ruled out of Thursday’s grudge match in Detroit.
An opening in the NFC North could soon come about
Chicago’s fans have looked on enviously throughout the years as their divisional rivals, the Green Bay Packers have been blessed with talent at the quarterback position.
Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers have combined for a staggering 44-15 record against the Bears while playing in Green Bay, making the rivalry very one-sided over the last 30 years.
The good news for the rest of the NFC North is that this should be Rodgers’ last season with the Packers.
Unless Rodgers joins a divisional rival, the Bears won’t have to deal with facing him twice every season anymore.
Fields has shown flashes of brilliance throughout the season and if he develops as he is expected to, Chicago could be a play-off contender sooner than their current record suggests.
