The Bears have had their bad moments in the Matt Nagy era, but rarely have they looked as flat as they did in the 24-10 loss to the Rams on Monday night that wasn’t as close as the score indicated.
And, predictably, Nagy did not see that coming.
“No, I didn’t. I really didn’t,” he said after the game. ‘‘I thought our guys had great energy. . . . That was just one of those nights where it wasn’t our night. We gotta figure out how every one of us are going to step up our game to be better.”
That’s Nagy’s biggest job this week as the Bears try to get off the mat and beat the Saints on Sunday at Soldier Field. Can Nagy get his team to respond after its worst performance of the season?
For what it’s worth, the Bears had a “normal” week of practice, considering it was a short week, Nagy said.
“The players came back in Wednesday for the first day back to the facility, and you could still kind of feel like, ‘Man, they’re a day back and you could feel it’ for about half a morning,” Nagy said. “And once we got past lunch, it was right on to the Saints.”
Getting his team to respond was a Nagy specialty in 2018, when the first-year coach showed a masterful touch with the command of his team’s approach. After a loss to the Packers in the opener, the Bears were in command all the way in a 24-17 victory over Russell Wilson and the Seahawks. After a shaky performance against the Cardinals, the Bears routed the Buccaneers, taking a 28-3 halftime lead en route to a 48-10 victory.
After their only other defeat that season — a 30-27 overtime loss to the Giants at the Meadowlands — the Bears responded with a convincing 15-6 victory over the 11-1 Rams.
Even the one time the Bears lost back-to-back games, the performance was credible in a 38-31 loss to the eventual Super Bowl champion Patriots that followed an overtime loss to the Dolphins.
The Bears and Nagy lost that touch last season — a four-game losing streak in Weeks 5-9 put them in a hole they could not recover from. But so far, so good in 2020. After losing to the Colts 19-11 at Soldier Field on Oct. 4, they responded on short rest with a 20-19 victory over Tom Brady and the Buccaneers on ‘‘Thursday Night Football’’ at Soldier Field. The Buccaneers, for what it’s worth, beat the Packers 38-10 and the Raiders 45-20 in their next two games, giving even more credibility to that game for the Bears.
Last week, Nagy declined to acknow-ledge this three-game run against likely playoff contenders — the Rams, Saints and Titans — as a measuring stick for his team, almost a reflexive reaction to anything that asks a coach to consider more than the next opponent.
But he acknowledged the reality that this game is a measuring stick, coming off the poor performance against the Rams. As much from a mental standpoint as a physical one. Does this team have what it takes?
And while the progress — or lack thereof — on offense again will be the focus, it’s the defense that’s on the spot. The Saints with Drew Brees have the ability to keep even the Bears’ defense off balance and a step behind.
“Yeah, I think it is [a measuring stick],” Nagy said. “I definitely think anytime you have a loss like we did last week, you want to see how your team responds. At the same time, I know who our guys are, and I have a good feeling of how they’re going to respond. But I can’t make any predictions. That’s just where we’re at.”
