Bears running back Khalil Herbert celebrates a touchdown Sunday. | Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images
To earn a meaningless win in a Seattle snowglobe, the Bears played veterans in the last year of their contract — instead of young players who might have a chance to be on their next good team.
SEATTLE — In a span of two plays Sunday, Nick Foles threw a third-and-14 touchdown pass to a double-teamed tight end Jimmy Graham with about a minute to play to trail the Seahawks by one — and then found Bears receiver Damiere Byrd along the back of the end zone to take the lead on a two-point conversion.
The 25-24 victory, sealed when the Seahawks turned the ball over on downs, must have been great justification for coach Matt Nagy — and for quarterback Foles, who started his first game in more than 13 months only because the two men in front of him on the depth chart are injured.
In a long, draining season, it was a moment of justified jubilation.
Don’t confuse the little picture for the big one, though. To earn a meaningless win in a Seattle snowglobe, the Bears played veterans in the last year of their contract — instead of young players who might have a chance to be on their next good team.
In a game with no postseason or draft implications — the Bears are eliminated and don’t have a first-round pick — why would Nagy decide to play someone who might not be on the team next season in favor of someone who could be? For the feeling at the end of the game.
Was it worth it? Nagy — and general manager Ryan Pace — like to talk about making decisions based on whether they’re in the best interest of the Bears. That was their rationale for drafting Justin Fields despite knowing they needed to win right away. Having a slight upgrade at a position on a who-cares afternoon with no stakes is not in the best interest of the Bears.
Giving up five inches and almost 40 pounds to the man across the line of scrimmage, Bears rookie cornerback Thomas Graham lined up one-on-one against Seahawks receiver D.K. Metcalf about six minutes into the game. At the snap on third-and-5 from the Bears’ 41, Metcalf stutter-stepped, broke to the right of Graham and sprinted along the Bears’ sideline. Quarterback Russell Wilson, the best dep ball passer in the NFL, dropped the ball effortlessly into his hands at the 9. Metcalf caught it and glided into the end zone as Graham dove fruitlessly into the snow.
But that one play wasn’t a loss for the Bears. You know what was? Deciding to keep Graham on the bench to start the game. Six days after an eye-opening debut — the Oregon alum was only on the active roster then because the coronavirus sidelined all four members of the defensive backfield — Graham was left to platoon Sunday. Artie Burns — who is on a one-year contract — platooned with him. The two alternated drives.
Graham couldn’t get promoted off the practice squad despite being a member of their most thin position group. Is he good? It’s the Bears job over the rest of the season to find out. They can’t do that with him on the bench.
The same goes for rookie tackle Larry Borom. Nagy, amazingly, decided to keep him on the bench Sunday. He instead started Germain Ifedi at right tackle. The same one who shoved rookie Teven Jenkins after he committed a penalty last week — and somehow was named a team captain against the Seahawks, a former team.
Pro Football Focus ranks Ifedi as its 60th-best tackle. Borom is No. 69.
Only one, though, has a chance to be on the next great Bears team. Ifedi is in the final year of his contract.
As it often does to cancel out Nagy’s questionable decisions, fate stepped in. When Jenkins hurt his shoulder in the first quarter, Borom got to play the rest of the game — albeit on the left side, which is not his natural position. That it came at the expense of Jenkins, the second-round pick, makes it a pyrrhic victory.
Rookie running back Khalil Herbert scored a touchdown Sunday. Dazz Newsome, another sixth-round draft pick this year, returned punts. Over the last two weeks, Nagy needs to make sure every other young player gets an opportunity to show the Bears what he can do.
