Chicago Bears head coach Matt Nagy made the interesting decision to sit his starters Saturday against the Kansas City Chiefs. This is in stark contrast to how most of the league treats this week of preseason, which is to give their starters a final run-out ahead of Week 1 of the regular season.
But Nagy has come out strongly in defense of his decision and claims it won’t play a factor in their game against the Green Bay Packers in Week 1.
Article Continues Below“We’re just at the spot right now where we’re lucky to be where we’re at,” Nagy said, via NBC Sports Chicago. “I love the growth as a team and as a family. I feel strong that when we go into Week 1 that those 25-30 plays aren’t going to sway [the Green Bay game] one way or the other. It’s really not. If we win that game against Green Bay, trust me, it wasn’t because we didn’t play those 25. If we lose it, same thing, I promise you that.”
There will likely be some who will disagree with Nagy’s opinion and believe that a young team learning a new offensive system would still stand to benefit from a few more reps in a true game situation.
However, that’s clearly not what Nagy thinks. He’s confident that the reps his team is getting in practice will be sufficient preparation for the Packers.
But in going this route, Nagy better hope his team puts together a strong performance in Week 1, or else he will likely take some criticism for his unconventional decision-making.