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Credit Matt Nagy for adjustments in Chicago Bears win

By Parker Hurley

Chicago Bears - Credit: Mike Dinovo-USA TODAY Sports
Chicago Bears - Credit: Mike Dinovo-USA TODAY Sports /
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Matt Nagy made the right play calls to give the Chicago Bears a chance to win

While many Chicago Bears are disappointed in the lack of ground game on Thursday, if you had done pre-game research, you would know that running the ball against Tampa Bay is an awful idea. For two straight years, they shut down the likes of Christian McCaffrey, Alvin Kamara, and more. Nobody runs on the Bucs, so it would be misguided for the Bears to stick with it.

However, if you abandon the run game and become one-dimensional, the pass rush can pin their ears back and attack you. The Bucs know this, and their gameplan is built around forcing teams to abandon the run and then relentlessly attacking.

While this plan is tough to beat, and Shaq Barrett and Jason Pierre-Paul are perfect candidates to take off into the backfield, Matt Nagy had a trick up his sleeve to combat this game plan.

No, he was not going to run the ball. However, he did use his runners to beat the over-aggressive pass rush of the Bucs. The Chicago Bears dominated the Buccaneers in the flats. It started with Cordarelle Patterson, who put the Bears in range to score their first  TD. From there, Nagy knew he had the Bucs where he wanted them.

Patterson finished the game with three catches for 38 yards. David Montgomery was involved as well. He was targeted eight times, which was only behind Allen Robinson. He caught seven for 30 yards, one being a huge one that put the Bears in FG range to win the game.

Look at the route chart for Montgomery below, it was all about getting JPP and Barrett to slow their rush, and force their linebackers to make plays near the flats.
Look at the route chart for Montgomery below, it was all about getting JPP and Barrett to slow their rush, and force their linebackers to make plays near the flats. /

You can see from Foles passing chart that he had a clear objective in mind. He was 16-19 within five yards of the line of scrimmage. Sure, he threw the ball 42 times, and the Bears abandoned the run. However, they had 19 extensions of the run with quick passes. They literally passed the ball to running backs 11 times.

Chicago Bears fans want their team to have an identity and stick to the run. However, the great Bill Belichick’s identity has always been to scheme against the talent across from you. Running the ball against an elite run defense is not smart. Using their elite run defense to set up passing to the running back is smart. Good on Matt Nagy to recognize and make the calls.

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