Chicago Bears quarterback Nick Foles had an off-field conversation with ESPN announcer Brian Griese prior to their matchup against the Los Angeles Rams. Griese spoke of the conversation late in the game's fourth quarter on-air, shortly after an error committed by Foles.
“We were talking to Nick Foles yesterday,” he said, “and he said: ‘You know, sometimes play calls come in, and I know that I don’t have time to execute that play call. And you know, I’m the one out here getting hit. Sometimes the guy calling the plays, Matt Nagy, he doesn’t know how much time there is back here.' So that’s something that they have to get worked out.”
The statement by the former Pro Bowler stirred some reactions from Bears fans who speculated that there was an ongoing rift between Foles and Nagy. After the game, the quarterback was asked by reporters about the conversation he had with Griese.
“We’ll go through a call and (say), ‘Hey, do you like this?’ ” Foles said. “I’m like, ‘Right now, they’re bringing pressure or something, it’s going to be hard to get that one off.’ So then he’s like, ‘All right, well let’s go to this one.’ Because it’s that conversation with him to let him know, ‘This is what’s best for us.’
“Coach Nagy and I have a great relationship and I would never say anything like that. I can see how it would be taken that way.”
Despite the statements made by Foles, his struggles together with his head coach and Bears teammates were evident as they failed to overcome the Rams' stifling defensive line on a Monday Night Football encounter. He passed for 261 yards on an inefficient 28/40 passing clip along with two picks and four sacks.
The Bears' rushing game was also limited as they managed to run just 49 rushing yards in the loss. The Rams never looked back and continued their surge to pull away with a 24-10 victory. They now improve to 5-2 while the Bears dropped a game back to hold an identical record.
Foles and Nagy along with the rest of the Bears will have to patch things up and move forward before their Week 8 encounter against the New Orleans Saints.