Nick Foles and the Chicago Bears are out of excuses this weekend against the Tennessee Titans.
This is the game the Chicago Bears have to get right, or else the wheels just might fall off all together. In a game against the 5-2 Tennessee Titans, head coach Matt Nagy has a tall task in front of him. Chicago cannot afford to lose three straight and risk a downward spiral.
A tall task, sure. But, these Titans are beatable. After starting 5-0, Tennessee is now losers of two in a row, like the Bears. Something has to give. One team will leave Sunday afternoon losers of three straight. The other, meanwhile, will have gotten back on track.
Play calling was a bit better last week against the New Orleans Saints. It still wasn’t perfect, but Nagy called a better game and it was much more suitable for a quarterback like Nick Foles, especially considering his lack of protection up front.
If Nagy continues to call quick passes often, mixed in with a variety of other styles, Foles should thrive against this Titans defense. We saw Foles get rid of the ball quickly against New Orleans on many occasions (others, not so much). On those plays, Bears receivers were able to get their hands on the ball right away and Chicago gained bits and pieces of yardage at a time.
Frankly, it was great just to see the offense moving at all. On those few plays where Foles had the time to throw the ball deep, we were able to see what guys like Darnell Mooney and Allen Robinson could do — and it seemed like it had been forever since we saw a play or two like that.
Against Tennessee, Foles should have a bit more time to throw. He’s also going up against the league’s 27th ranked pass defense in the Titans. Mike Vrabel‘s defense is allowing quarterbacks to complete 66.5 percent of passes while giving up the fourth-most passing touchdowns in all of football this season (17). Fans are, well, a little fed up.
Looking at how often Foles has been under duress this season, it hasn’t been pretty. But, the Titans are second-to-last in sacks this season with just nine.
The table is set for Foles not only to have more time in the pocket, but he’s throwing on one of the worst pass defenses in the league, all things considered. For Nagy, it’s going to be about scheming his guys open as usual — but can he call the correct plays in each situation? That’s what it’s come down to in many games this year. Situational football hasn’t been Nagy’s strength.
If Chicago is going to come away snapping their small losing streak, it’s going to have to be due to a strong game from Foles. Everything is laid out before him to have maybe the best game of his season thus far, and if he doesn’t, then the Bears will have one of the roughest weeks they’ve had all year following the loss.
