The Chicago Bears opted to do something unconventional in the buildup to a game-winning field goal try that they’re now having to answer for.
Down a point with 43 seconds and one timeout left, the Bears opted to take a knee at the Los Angeles Chargers’ 22-yard line instead of trying to pick up some extra yards for kicker Eddy Piniero. That decision quickly came under scrutiny after Piniero missed the 41-yard try, leading to another Chicago loss.
Coach Matt Nagy was asked questions about that decision after the game and things got testy, with Nagy denying that it was a sign of him lacking faith in his offense to avoid a turnover.
Matt Nagy on kneeling before the FG: “I’m not even going to get into that. I have zero thought of running the ball & taking the chance of fumbling the football. They know you’re running the football, so you lose 3-4 yds. That wasn’t even in our process as coaches to think about."
— Adam Hoge (@AdamHoge) October 27, 2019
So if they know you’re running the ball, why not throw it?
Nagy: “Throw the football, right then and there? What happens if you take a sack or there’s a fumble?"
— Adam Hoge (@AdamHoge) October 27, 2019
More Nagy: “I’ll just be brutally clear: Zero thought of throwing the football. Zero thought of running the football. You understand me? That’s exactly what it was. So it’s as simple as that.”
— Adam Hoge (@AdamHoge) October 27, 2019
So is that a lack of faith in your offense?
Nagy said, “No, there’s no lack of faith,” and then went into how well they ran the football today. He then reiterated that the risk of a fumble was a too big. Finally:
“We’re wasting our time right now talking about that.”
— Adam Hoge (@AdamHoge) October 27, 2019
If Piniero makes the field goal, nobody remembers the decision, so Nagy is sort of a victim of his kicker’s failure here. Ultimately, Piniero needs to convert that. That said, Piniero’s kick hooked to the left late, and it might have been good a few yards closer. There’s definitely an argument to be made that Nagy did his kicker a disservice by simply downing the ball and using the timeout.
Nagy actually apologized to the Bears for some of his playcalling. It doesn’t sound like he has any plans to say sorry about this decision, though.
