Mitch Trubisky played error-free, until he didn't. It could cost Matt Nagy his job

CHICAGO – The Bears found many ways to lose over their previous five games. They’d lost close games in overtime and they’d been blown out by their biggest rival on national TV.

Yet, nothing was more painful than Sunday, when the Bears blew a 10-point fourth-quarter lead in a 34-30 loss to the Detroit Lions at Soldier Field. It was their sixth consecutive loss, dropping them to 5-7. The hot seat, already warm, has become scalding underneath Bears coach Matt Nagy.

Nagy was at a loss for words two or three games ago. The situation has only grown more dire.

“This one, just the way it ended, we've been on the other end of so many of these [comebacks], and now to have a lead like this and lose this way, it stings,” Nagy said. “It hurts.”

The saddest part was the Bears offense played one of its best games of the season. The Bears racked up 389 yards of offense, doing it with a punishing ground game, and taking what the Lions gave them in the passing game.

All it took was one costly mistake to turn that narrative on its head.

With a three-point lead and a third-and-4 play at their own 17-yard line, Bears quarterback Mitch Trubisky stepped back to pass and was smothered by Lions defensive end Romeo Okwara.

Okwara had busted past Bears right tackle Germain Ifedi and swiped at the ball the moment Trubisky went to throw it. The Lions jumped on the fumble and took over at the 7-yard line. They punched in what would become the game-winning touchdown moments later.

“We ran a play that's good versus all coverages,” Nagy said. “If they show man, great, it has answers versus zero [coverage]. And then if they play zone, it has answers there as well. So we felt good with that. It's just a play, at least what I saw from the jumbotron afterwards, [Okwara] made a good play around the edge.”

It was the second straight week that a strip sack proved costly for Trubisky. He reiterated that taking care of the football has to be his No.1 priority. Even so, the timing couldn’t have been worse. Okwara reached his hand to the right spot at the exact right moment.

“I thought the guy made a good play,” Trubisky said. “I was about to get ready to throw, I had one hand on the football and he must’ve timed it perfectly.”

The fumble was the absolute worst-case scenario. So was this loss to the Lions.

It’s fair to wonder if this is the nail in the coffin for the Matt Nagy era in Chicago. The McCaskey family has never fired a head coach mid-season. If ever there was a reason to do it, a six-game losing streak makes a strong argument.

Nagy said after the game that he wasn’t going to speculate on his job status.

“What my job is to do is to make sure that each and every week I'm giving it everything I can as a coach and as a leader with these guys,” Nagy said. “I have to make sure that I do that. Any other thing, that's a distraction.”

The Bears were adamant during the week that their defense didn’t quit on them last week in Green Bay. But allowing 460 net yards against the Detroit Lions was not a good look. It’s especially true when Trubisky threw for 267 yards and a touchdown, compiling a 108.3 passer rating. He didn’t throw an interception.

This was a game the Bears needed to win. They were, technically, still in the playoff hunt. If ever they were going to end this losing streak, the previously 4-7 Lions were a perfect candidate.

The Lions canned coach Matt Patricia following an ugly Thanksgiving Day loss. Patricia had never beaten the Bears in his five tries as coach. Interim coach Darrell Bevell walked in and ended Nagy’s perfect record against Detroit.

But while credit goes to the opponent, this was a game the Bears coughed up. They led by 10 points with 4:33 remaining when the Lions took over at their own 4-yard line. In a situation like that, the Bears simply can’t afford to lose.

“The easy way out is for people in different positions like myself as a head coach to just chalk it up and say this wasn't our year,” Nagy said. “But that will never happen to me and our guys. They feed off of that and that's all we can do – the belief, the trust. We have to finish strong and just understand that that's what we have left.”

For Nagy, the last four games might be all he has left.