LAKE FOREST, Ill. (CBS) — What many believed would be the strength of this Bears team – the defense – proved inconsistent Sunday as the Bears lost Game One to the Los Angeles Rams.
CBS 2’s Jackie Kostek on Monday examined what went wrong, and how the team plans to fix it.
“It definitely doesn’t sit well,” said linebacker Roquan Smith. “We know that’s not our style.”
Smith said the defense knows what hurt them – allowing explosive plays, missing tackles, and miscommunication.
“We all have to look ourselves in the mirror, and we just have to get better from it,” said Head Coach Matt Nagy, “because that’s not the standard, and we’ve got to keep the standard the standard.”
Nagy said there were some defensive bright spots like a big red zone stop on third and one. But the issues came down to calls new defensive coordinator Sean Desai would like back – and players simply not executing.
“This was Sean’s first game calling and it was our first game of 2021, and we understand that’s not good enough,” Nagy said. “We want to be better.”
Nagy says there is no panic in the locker room – and that this loss creates an opportunity for the team to understand the significance of responding to adversity.