The nightmare scenario played out for Bears fans in London.
On an afternoon that the defense wasn't at its best, the Chicago offense couldn't pick up the slack, scoring zero first-half points and turning the ball over twice, including a back-breaking INT that sealed the 24-21 loss to the Oakland Raiders.
Through five games, Matt Nagy's offense has been abysmal, generating 17.4 points per game (28th in NFL), 266.0 total yards per game (30th), 185.4 passing yards per game (30th) and has just 15 big plays (30th). The 17.4 points per game are the fewest by any team with a winning record -- the four teams with fewer PPG this season are a combined 0-18.
"Numbers don't lie. Not good enough," Nagy said, via the team's official website. "You put in a lot of work to be better, and we know where we're at. It's my job to make sure it gets better...I believe whole-heartedly in all of our guys. But each person, every coach, every player, it's time to start looking at themselves in the mirror and figuring out why we're out there."
Nagy knows he needs to run the ball more. The Bears' 42 rush yards Sunday against Oakland were their fewest in a loss since Week 17, 2017 versus Minnesota.
With no ground-game, an inefficient Chase Daniel at quarterback, and a struggling offensive line, the Bears' offense isn't consistent enough to move the ball. Of their 11 possessions Sunday, only one went more than 57 total yards -- a 12-play, 89-yard TD drive (the other two touchdowns were set up by an Oakland fumble and big punt return).
For the first time this season, the Bears' defense didn't play like demigods, allowing Oakland 398 total yards, including 169 rushing. It's an aberration, Khalil Mack & Co. will bounce back from once on U.S. soil. But for Nagy, it's disappointing that the balance of his team is currently so lopsided that unless the D plays lights out, Chicago can't win.
Nagy knows he needs to get more from his offense in the future, so he isn't always asking his defense to be perfect.
"I want to see when these times happen, that we can do a little bit more offensively to be able to help that defense out after they had four pretty good games," he said Sunday.
Mitchell Trubisky potentially returning after the team's bye could help, but the coach also needs to figure out better play call balance to give his QBs a better chance to succeed.