Which Chicago Bears were winners vs. Giants?
The Chicago Bears hosted the New York Giants in what was their final home game of the season. The Giants were coming in hammered by injuries and Covid-19, but the Bears have had their obstacles this year as well. The Bears came away with this one by a final score of 29-3 and the win provided the team with a nice feeling as they leave Soldier Field as winners in the last home game. It had a weird feel to it, but the win was good to see.
The Chicago Bears defense looked dominant over the Giants’ backup players, as they should.
Chicago Bears Week 17 Winner No. 1: Matt Nagy
It feels good to be able to put Coach Nagy on the winners’ list this week because of how many times he has appeared on the duds list. Nagy being fired is all but done by the end of the season, and at this point, he knows he will not be kept around regardless of how the Bears did over the final two weeks. We could have seen him fold and take a careless approach to this game, but it was clear the team respects him and played hard for him.
Right out of the gate the Bears had the energy, forcing two turnovers on the first two Giants’ drives. The Bears have been eliminated from playoff contention, they do not have their first-round pick, and their coach is all but gone in the offseason. There almost was nothing to play for in this game other than just winning a football game. Matt Nagy may be a lot of things, but he is a leader when it comes to the locker room and creating a culture. There could have been meltdowns and bad reactions all season as players become frustrated, but he did a good job to keep the team together and to make sure the culture remained.
The players and coaches all had smiles on their faces yesterday after the win, and a lot of the credit goes to Matt Nagy. Some aggressive calls that worked out as well as a more disciplined game out of the entire team were something positive to take away and it leaves a good sense in fans that the breakup will not be an ugly one. Obviously, fans want to see a different direction for the team going forward, but Nagy took this team to the playoffs two of the four years he was here. Some of the previous coaches did not see the same success.
Matt Nagy enjoyed a nice game against the Giants coaching-wise and deserves some credit for this week’s effort from the team. They played hard for their coach, and it shows us that through everything that has happened they still respected him.