Bears’ loss in Philly means you can forget about a World Series title, among other things

The final score was 22-14 Eagles, and it really, really wasn’t that close. The Bears’ defense played so poorly in the first half that it didn’t even give Mitch Trubisky a chance to be bad.

SHARE Bears’ loss in Philly means you can forget about a World Series title, among other things
Chicago Bears v Philadelphia Eagles

Eagles tight end Zach Ertz reacts after one of his nine catches Sunday against the Bears. He had 103 receiving yards in Philadelphia’s 22-14 victory.

Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images

Last week, Bears coach Matt Nagy tried to inspire his shaken troops with a PowerPoint presentation of the Nationals’ Game 7 victory in the World Series, complete with video of champagne-soaked players celebrating. The Nats had started the season 19-31, the Bears had started theirs 3-4 and everyone knew where Nagy was going with this.

Then Sunday arrived, and all I can come up with is that the Bears watched a retrospective of the Marlins’ 2019 season before kickoff. It’s the only reasonable explanation for their miserable first half against the Eagles. They played like a team that went 57-105. Also, playing baseball when the other team is playing football: Probably not a good strategy.

The final score was 22-14 Eagles, and it really, really wasn’t that close. The Bears’ defense performed so poorly in the first half that it didn’t even give Mitch Trubisky a chance to be bad. That once-feared unit gave up 202 yards before halftime and allowed Philadelphia to control the ball for 20 minutes, 45 seconds of the first 30 minutes. The Bears had one yard of passing offense in the first half. One, as in one. They went three-and-out in their first four possessions, which, as the players will tell you, is like striking out without ever touching the ball.

“We just couldn’t get it going,’’ Nagy said. “It snowballed. It really did. It just snowballed. It was one thing after the next. It can’t happen.’’

Here’s the saddest thing of all from a sad effort by the Bears: Trubisky, everyone’s favorite piñata, wasn’t terrible in the second half. He had a 53-yard completion to Taylor Gabriel and a 30-yarder to David Montgomery. Those throws will offer Nagy enough of a rationalization to stick with Mitch. But it’s worth mentioning that in both instances, his receivers were wide open. He misfired on several other throws, and receivers dropped several passes. He should have been intercepted on a third-quarter pass to Allen Robinson.

But Trubisky wasn’t the problem against Philadelphia, and if you want that to be a step, have at it. Nagy surely will see it that way because he always sees it that way. After the game, he was asked about Trubisky’s body language, which we were told hadn’t been good the week before in a loss to the Chargers. He said Trubisky was “great on the sideline, he was great on the bench and he was really good with [quarterbacks coach Dave Ragone].’’

On the field, Trubisky’s 66.6 passer rating spoke its own language.

Even when the Bears cut the Eagles’ lead to 19-14 on two Montgomery touchdowns, they weren’t going to win this game. They just weren’t. These are the Bears, and this is one of those seasons you know in your bones. It could be 2014 or 1998 or 1973. You know it only too well.

The first half was so brutal, it made it almost impossible to believe in anything the second half would try to offer. The Bears had eight penalties before halftime. Defensive lineman Nick Williams had an egregious roughing-the-passer penalty, hitting Carson Wentz long after he had thrown the ball. What should have been fourth-and-one at the Bears’ 38 was now first-and-10 at the Bears’ 23. The Eagles eventually scored on Zach Ertz’s 25-yard touchdown reception. Philly led 12-0.

And we were supposed to believe a comeback was looming? No, sorry.

Trubisky is at his best when he’s on the move, whether as a passer or as a runner, but Nagy continues to ignore that obvious fact. His quarterback ran the ball twice against the Eagles, and that’s not enough. If he wants to salvage the kid’s career, he needs to call more run plays for him.

The Bears, losers of four straight, are 3-5, and a Nationals-like story isn’t going to be told in Chicago. Not with this team. Not with this quarterback. And not with a defense that thinks the game begins after halftime. The Bears badly miss defensive lineman Akiem Hicks, but that doesn’t explain the pounding the Eagles put on his teammates in the first half. Former Bears running back Jordan Howard rushed for 82 yards on 19 carries.

“We’re being as tested as we ever wanted to be, but we’ll see how we respond to it,’’ Nagy said.

Trubisky talked about the things the Bears need to do on offense to improve. Play faster. Make it simpler. The usual.

All of it feels like “A Christmas Story’’ marathon. We’ve watched this same story again and again. Trust me on this, it doesn’t end with a World Series celebration.

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