Nick Foles goes down with injury, Bears remain stuck in neutral

CHICAGO – They can change the quarterback. They can change the play-caller. They can’t, it seems, give this Bears offense life.

It was another lackluster performance for the Bears in what was their fourth consecutive loss, a 19-13 defeat against the Minnesota Vikings on "Monday Night Football" at Soldier Field.

It was punctuated with a hit that sent Bears quarterback Nick Foles off the field on a cart. It was the type of ending that would’ve silenced a raucous 60,000 fans at Soldier Field, if there were a crowd to silence.

Instead, Bears players walked somberly off the field. Gone is the 5-1 start to the season. Welcome to 5-5.

"We struggled mightily on offense," Nagy said. "We had field position, we couldn’t convert on that in the red zone. It overshadows how well I thought our defense played."

Foles couldn’t put any weight on his right leg as he left the field after a hit on first-and-10 with 37 seconds remaining in the game. He was down on the grass for several minutes. Multiple players from both teams came to wish him well as the cart headed off the field.

In a game the Bears pretty much had to win, things went from bad to worse. Foles injury will lead to more uncertainty moving forward. The Bears may have no choice but to go back to quarterback Mitch Trubisky, if he is healthy. Trubisky missed his second consecutive game with a shoulder injury.

To make matters worse, Bears Pro Bowl defensive tackle Akiem Hicks also left the game with a hamstring injury and did not return.

The Bears had 149 yards of total offense in the game, with only 32 yards in the second half. The switch at play caller from head coach Matt Nagy to offensive coordinator Bill Lazor was meant to spark the Bears offense. It did nothing of the sort.

Without a starting running back and with a battered offensive line, the Bears remained stuck in neutral. Foles barely eclipsed 100 yards passing, finishing with 106 yards and an interception.

They wasted another solid defensive performance. They squandered Cordarrelle Patterson's 104-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.

"I don’t know what we were for third downs, but I know it wasn’t really good," left tackle Charles Leno said. "We couldn’t stay on the field and keep those drives going. When we did have good drives early in the game, we moved the ball and it looked and felt good, but you’ve got to stay on the field to keep those drives going."

The Bears were just 2-for-11 on third downs. They failed to score a touchdown on offense.

During one crucial third-and-5 at the Minnesota 31-yard line with 2:55 remaining in the game, the Bears threw a lateral pass to receiver Allen Robinson that went for negative-four yards. Different play caller, same head-scratching results.

If nothing else, it is clear that Nagy’s play-calling – while far from perfect – was not the real issue. The Bears offense is broken.

"The reason why we did it [switched play callers], right, was just because we felt like we were struggling to get into that rhythm," Nagy said. "We weren't taking advantage of things. We weren't scoring touchdowns. ... So it was repetitive today. It was still happening. So not only for players health right now, but for us as a coaching staff, we need to make sure that we're really honestly going back now and saying, 'OK, what's going on.'"

The Bears have some real soul searching to do as they head into the bye week next weekend, and a 13-day layoff until their next matchup against Green Bay on Nov. 29.