Vikings get away with clear roughing the passer on Nick Foles (Video)

No one in the NFL knows what roughing the passer is, not even the officials.

Roughing the passer changes from one game to the next, which is the problem in a nutshell. Per the NFL rulebook, defenders aren’t allowed to club or hit the quarterback’s helmet, or they’re at risk of a 15-yard penalty. That’s exactly what one Vikings defender did to Chicago Bears quarterback Nick Foles in the fourth quarter on Monday Night Football.

Based on the standard set around the league in recent years, this should be a penalty, and by default the Bears drive would’ve been extended. Instead, Chicago had to punt, wondering “what if” on the sidelines.

The Bears offense has been putrid

Chicago took play-calling duties away from Matt Nagy, but it didn’t matter much. The Bears offense barely moved the ball on Monday night, and midway through the fourth quarter their only touchdown was a special teams score by Cordarrelle Patterson.

Part of the problem is the quarterback play, but it’s tough to believe that both Mitchell Trubisky AND Nick Foles are this bad. The weapons around them at least include some level of decency, with Allen Robinson leading the way. So what’s the deal?

It doesn’t matter, honestly. It’s on Nagy, and it’s his job to fix the issue by season’s end, especially given his title as a so-called offensive guru.