Pat McAfee eviscerates Bears after tough loss to Bucs originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
Pat McAfee didn’t want to do it, but he had to. On Monday, the former NFL punter and current NFL expert spoke with the Bears.
“I don’t want to say it because I love the city of Chicago, the working-class city… but the Chicago Bears stink,” McAfee said on “The Pat McAfee Show.” “I mean, they’re so bad at football.”
The problem for McAfee is that the Bears appear to be regressing as a team, rather than improving on last season’s NFL-worst record of 3-14.
“The only good thing about the Chicago Bears last year was when Justin Fields would be running for his life and he would be running all over the field… Now they won’t run him anymore. The man never runs, stinks of throwing, the defense let Baker Mayfield chop them to pieces. I mean, times are tough out there in Chicago for another year.
“I don’t know if you will limit yourself to one win this year. The Bears might have gotten even worse.”
It’s easy to see why McAfee is in such hot water with the Bears after just two games. Their offense is completely out of sync from a plan and execution standpoint. The defense can’t stop anyone, whether it’s in the run game or on third down. And as he said, the team’s only strength has turned into a weakness.
Last season, the Bears could hang their hat on their dominant run game. They easily led the league with 3,014 rushing yards. This year, their 189 rushing yards rank 20th in the league, and four teams still haven’t played their second game. Much of their success on the field was due to Fields’ playmaking ability, but as McAfee pointed out, that playmaking ability has not been on display this year. He has 62 yards on 13 carries, good for a 4.7 YPC average. That’s a far cry from 2022, when he compiled 1,143 rushing yards on 160 carries for a YPC rate of 7.1.
McAfee interviewed head coach Matt Eberflus before the season started and had previously said he thought the Bears were moving in the right direction under his leadership. After week 2, McAfee has doubts.
“Bears fans, we’ve been with you… you don’t seem to be getting any better.”
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