There’s a big gap between the best and worst teams in the NFC North.
That was on display in Chicago, where the first-place Bears easily beat the last-place Lions, 34-22. It was the first meeting of first-year coaches Matt Nagy and Matt Patricia, and it wasn’t close: Nagy’s team came out with a great game plan, while Patricia’s team came out looking unprepared, and by the time the dust settled the Bears had a 26-0 lead.
Mitchell Trubisky was effective and in control of Nagy’s offense. For much of the season the Bears’ defense has been the key to their success, but Trubisky appears to be growing in his second year in the NFL. If he can keep playing this way, the Bears are going to be a tough team to beat down the stretch.
The Lions will just be playing meaningless games down the stretch. Matthew Stafford didn’t do much on offense, and Patricia’s defense looked clueless trying to stop Nagy’s offense. The Lions, who were 9-7 two years in a row before firing Jim Caldwell this offseason, have gone in the wrong direction under Patricia. Today Patricia wasted timeouts, made foolish decisions to punt when the Lions needed to be bold and go for it, and generally just didn’t look like he was up to the task of being a head coach.
Not everything is perfect for the Bears. Particularly alarming is that kicker Cody Parkey missed two extra points and two field goals. The Bears just haven’t been able to find a reliable kicker since cutting Robbie Gould three years ago.
But the Bears are in much, much better shape than the Lions. Perhaps after today’s game, some reporter should ask Patricia, “You took over a 9-7 team this year, while Matt Nagy took over a 5-11 team this year. Why is his team so much better than yours?”
Just don’t slouch while you’re asking that.
