One of the more important questions the Bears had to answer Monday night was how Matt Nagy would call plays if given another second-half lead. Nagy answered that question well against the Seattle Seahawks, specifically with how he dialed up a well-executed 11-play, 66-yard scoring drive midway through the second half of the Bears' 24-17 win on Monday Night Football.
The Bears never gained more than nine yards on a single play until the final one of the drive, which went for 10. But the Mitch Trubisky-led offense also never faced a third down, with this group staying on schedule while out-scheming and out-executing the Seahawks. There's an argument to be made it was the Bears' best offensive drive of the young season: The other two touchdown drives of 2018 came on the first drive of each game when plays were scripted.
Nagy had to make an adjustment with the Seahawks frequently dropping eight men into the box and selling out to stop Jordan Howard. He did so on this drive, and it got the Bears into the end zone. Here's the blow-by-blow of how:
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First play: First and 10, ball on Bears' 34
Tight ends Dion Sims and Trey Burton are lined up to the near sideline, and Trubisky quickly fires a screen to Taylor Gabriel. It’s the first time the Bears give this look in Monday’s game after Nagy admitted he over-used some screens against the Packers. Gabriel does a nice job after the catch to gain six yards, starting the drive on schedule.
Second play: Second and four, ball on Bears' 40
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In 11 personnel (one tight end, one running back), Howard runs a stretch to the right, away from the middle of the field the Seahawks had so successfully clogged all night. Kyle Long delivers a punishing pancake block, and Gabriel holds his own as a run blocker, too, to net Howard a gain of five and a first down.
Third play: First and 10, ball on Bears' 45
This is the only ineffective play of the drive, and it underscores how the Seahawks' defense had been playing the Bears' offense. On the far sideline, safety Earl Thomas picks up tight end Trey Burton (red arrow), which would've left Allen Robinson (blue arrow) in one-on-one coverage with no safety help over the top because Bradley McDougald (yellow circle/arrow) is in the box. Trubisky sells the pass fake, but McDougald stays committed to the run. The Bears' offensive line does its job but can't block the extra defender, and McDougald makes a tackle for a one-yard gain.
Fourth play: Second and nine, ball on Bears' 46
McDougald (green circle) blitzes from the edge on a play fake to Howard. Burton (blue arrow) is open for an easy completion at the line of scrimmage, while linebacker Austin Calitro (yellow arrow) backs up as the ball is being thrown, possibly to carry wide receiver Anthony Miller over the middle. He doesn't make the tackle on the play, which goes for nine yards and a first down.
Fifth play: First and 10, ball on Seahawks' 45
This is the only time the Bears ran the ball into the interior of the Seahawks' defense on this drive. After attacking the edges and getting in rhythm with some quick passing plays, the Bears' offensive line (as well as Sims and Burton) get their best interior run blocking push of the night, with most of Howard's blockers one or two yards upfield before he crosses the line of scrimmage. Howard gains six on the gorund here.
Sixth play: Second and four, ball on Seahawks' 39
Gabriel lines up in the backfield to Trubisky's right, and the pair run a zone read. Trubisky makes the correct read on the play, and but Robinson couldn't hold his block as the play stretched toward the sideline. Gabriel does well to get four yards on it.
Seventh play: First and 10, ball on Seahawks' 35
Credit Sims with a good job in pass protection, as he routes Frank Clark upfield just enough for Trubisky to escape the Seahawks' edge rusher and get into open field. Trubisky is keeping his eyes downfield (blue arrow) while moving to his right, and he doesn't see a throw he likes so he takes off and runs for four yards. That Trubisky kept his eyes downfield was generally a good thing, though had he put his head down and took off sooner he probably could've got more than the four yards he did. That's a lot easier to say from the comfort of a couch, though.
Eighth play: Second and six, ball on Seahawks' 31
Another play fake to Howard draws linebacker Barkevious Mingo (green arrow) toward the backfield, and Trubisky has no problem throwing a quick swing pass to Josh Bellamy (blue circle) for a gain of six and a first down.
Ninth play: First and 10, ball on Seahawks' 25
A well-designed and well-executed jet sweep with some misdirection to Gabriel (red arrow) draws linebacker Mychal Kendricks (green arrow) the wrong way. Left tackle Charles Leno gets to block Calitro in space (blue circle), to highlight a good matchup for the Bears. This play is well-blocked, but it's again safety Earl Thomas who's the only reason why it didn't go for more, as he diagnoses the play and makes a tackle on Gabriel for a gain of eight to end the third quarter.
Tenth play: Second and two, ball on Seahawks' 17
The Bears go back to Howard, who goes off the left end for a gain of seven. While only three of Howard's 14 runs came on this drive, over half his yards (18/35) were gained on it.
11th play: First and goal, ball on Seahawks' 10
Miller runs an excellent route, beating cornerback Akeem King with a perfectly-set-up move. Trubisky, rolling to his left, fires a perfect pass to Miller. Touchdown.
Final takeaways
A number of players deserve credit for making this drive work, from the obvious (Trubisky, for taking what was there) and Gabriel (for slipping through or past tackles for a few extra yards) to the less obvious (Sims, in particular, had a strong series as both a pass and run blocker). But Nagy stood out, too, for calling the right plays to kick-start an offense that punted on its previous two second-half possessions.