CHICAGO (670 The Score) -- Bears coach Matt Nagy couldn't imagine what it would be like watching his team play without him Sunday, forced away from Solider Field after testing positive for COVID-19.
Nagy was part of preparing the Bears during the week of practice but hadn't prepared for his own Sunday in isolation.
"I wish I could tell you," Nagy said Friday. "But I have no idea what it will be like."
Surely, Nagy had to feel helpless as the Bears lost their third straight game, this one a 33-22 setback at home to the 49ers. He couldn't meet with offensive players to make adjustments or fire up the defense to get a key stop. All Nagy could do was watch from afar as his poor football team continued its downward slide.
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While the Bears were led by rookie quarterback Justin Fields, the rest of the team let him down. The Chicago defense surrendered 467 yards, its most since 2016, while forcing no turnovers and recording zero sacks. San Francisco had nine drives offensively and scored on all but two – an opening drive that ended with a missed field goal and final drive that ended in victory formation.
The Bears entered the season confident their defense could rediscover its elite form from 2018. Instead, the once-dominant group has continued to regress.
"Credit to them," Bears defensive lineman Akiem Hicks said. "They capitalized on our faults."
Meanwhile, the Bears (3-5) weren't sharp enough offensively around Fields. He threw for 175 yards and rushed for 103 yards, but penalties and poor execution left points and opportunities on the field. The Bears reached 49ers territory on five of their eight series but came away with only two touchdowns.
Even as Fields flashed greatness, the Bears weren't nearly good enough offensively.
"You got to score more touchdowns than you do field goals," said Bears special teams coordinator Chris Tabor, who served as the acting head coach in place of Nagy.
Sunday was simply who these Bears are -- a team that isn't talented or consistent enough on either side of the football to truly compete for a championship. The Bears are riding a three-game losing streak for a third straight season under Nagy's watch, and this slide is pushing Chicago out of playoff contention.
The Bears' focus should now turn to Fields' future and how they can best develop a roster and a scheme around him that gives the organization the best chance to win a championship in his rookie contract window. A key part of that awaits Tuesday, which brings the NFL trade deadline at 3 p.m. CT. General manager Ryan Pace has veteran players who are trade candidates who could return draft capital – Hicks, receiver Allen Robinson, tight end Jimmy Graham or even running back David Montgomery.
But Pace likely won't have interest in dealing a key veteran, because it would signal a white flag in Chicago as he and Nagy try to retain their jobs. And losing a key veteran voice in the locker room could diminish the buy-in factor that Nagy often touts to his bosses.
The Bears chose this directionless fate, trusting Nagy in his fourth season and Pace in his seventh to develop a dynamic rookie in Fields while balancing the desperation of a win-now mandate. Team chairman George McCaskey set the stage for this mess last January when he declined to clean house and start anew.
"Our aggressive mindset will be ongoing," Pace said of the approach leading up to the trade deadline while speaking to WBBM Newsradio 780.
If Pace acts on that mindset, it could prove to be costly. Since being hired by the Bears in 2015, Pace has routinely mortgaged future assets to make aggressive moves in the present to maximize his team's potential. As it sits now, the Bears have utilized nearly their entire salary cap allocation and will head into the 2022 draft without a first-round pick after trading up for Fields.
Because of that, the Bears don't even have the silver lining of moving up the draft board in the first round when they suffer losses these days.
For the last few years, the Bears have fancied themselves as a Super Bowl contender but proved to be just an average football team at best. This season, it seems they may not even be good enough to float around the .500 mark.
"Sometimes you're going to get hit in the face," Hicks said. "You just can't sit on them too long."
On Monday morning, players will return to Halas Hall and relive a disappointing game they let slip away. Nagy will speak to the Bears – whether it's in-person or through video conferencing again – about believing in each other and staying the course through adversity. Meanwhile, Pace will be on the second floor considering what he can do to make his team better this season.
Truth be told, there isn't a motivational speech to be given or a single player to be acquired that can lift a collective failure several years in the making.
Like Nagy did Sunday, we need to get used to watching these Bears with a helpless feeling that will last the rest of this season.
Chris Emma covers the Bears, Chicago's sports scene and more for 670TheScore.com. Follow him on Twitter @CEmma670.
