The Chicago Bears are a good football team. If they want to be a good football team, they will have to learn how to close out games that they hold two-score leads in
You can point to a missed tackle here, or the third-down run there, the fact of the matter is that they all stacked up in the Chicago Bears defeat of themselves.
Yes, while Brock Osweiler played better than expected, and the Miami Dolphins defense came in underrated this is a game in which the Chicago Bears beat themselves. They held an 11 point lead in the fourth quarter and a touchdown lead in the fourth. If the Chicago Bears want to be considered a contender, they have to learn how to close those games.
Think about it; they led by three scores in their loss in Week One. This is a team that gets ahead of themselves, sets themselves up for the comeback and then blows away the lead late.
More from Bear Goggles On
- Franchise tag and transition tag windows open for Chicago Bears and NFL
- How the Chicago Bears can control the running back market in 2023
- The Chicago Bears can own the city of Chicago moving forward
- Chicago Bears NFL Combine Preview: Quarterback
- 7 best free agent tackle options for Chicago Bears
This is not a call to fire Matt Nagy. This is not a hit piece of Mitch Trubisky or the Chicago Bears. The Chicago Bears are a young football team. Matt Nagy is a young head coach. Mitch Trubisky is a young quarterback. Heck, even Khalil Mack just got out of his rookie contract.
None of these people have been in these high leverage situations before. Early on, there has been some disconnect, and a group that has not been in the position to seal off wins has had trouble handling the moment.
Considering the Bears bounced back from their Week One defeat to rattle off three straight wins, they can learn from mistakes and grow.
Some teams just know how to win. Take the Pittsburgh Steelers for example. Down by one, at their division rival with only one minute to go, everyone knew they were going to handle their business.
That is because they have a head coach, a quarterback, and pieces on their defense who have been there before. They are prepared for every situation.
Matt Nagy and his crew are not there yet. When they will and how long it takes to have that comfortability of being in that adverse situation is up in the air.
This team has a lot of talent and considering the youth even more upside. However, if this team does not become comfortable and confident in these moments, closing out games on the road, it is going to lead to more disappointments.
In this long novel that is the Matt Nagy head coaching era, we will see how he gets over the “seal the game” chapter.