Nagy defends late-game strategy after Bears miss 41-yard FG to lose

Matt Nagy said Sunday he doesn't regret cutting off the Chicago Bears' final drive against the Los Angeles Chargers to attempt an unsuccessful 41-yard field goal.

The Bears were marching down the field, trailing 17-16 with 43 seconds left, when Nagy called a quarterback kneel. He let the clock trickle down to four seconds before taking his final timeout and sending in Eddy Pineiro, who booted the try wide of the uprights.

"What happens if you take a sack or there's a fumble?" Nagy told reporters postgame. "I'll just be brutally clear: zero thought of throwing the football, zero thought of running the football."

Chicago rushed for 162 yards versus the Chargers, averaging 4.3 yards per carry. It was one of the Bears' most productive games of the season on the ground, but Nagy had no desire to run again after Mitchell Trubisky's 11-yard scramble set up the 41-yard field-goal attempt.

"When they know you're running the football, you lose three or four yards," the second-year head coach said.

Instead, he settled for a minimal loss on the quarterback kneel, and the Bears fell to 3-4 after the missed field goal.

"We've lost three in a row, we've got to rally the troops," Nagy said.

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