The Bears basically need to post a shutout to beat the Packers

The Bears will need a total turnaround on offense to even have a chance of beating the Packers this week.

The Chicago Bears began the season 5-1 and the record was able to distract from the problems on offense. Now the team is in the midst of a four-game losing streak and fresh off a bye with a matchup against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday night.

The question now is how the offense is going to score any points. Both Nick Foles and Mitchell Trubisky are coming back from injuries and head coach Matt Nagy has not yet named a starter. Do the Bears need a shutout just to have a shot at winning?

Bears need a miracle against the Packers

Posting a shutout to win is obviously a bit of hyperbole. But there are still serious concerns on offense whether Foles or Trubisky line up under center. If Tyler Bray has to start, well, we won’t even go there yet.

The highest point total for the Bears during this four-game losing streak is the 23 points scored in a 26-23 overtime loss to the New Orleans Saints. The offense managed only 13 points last week against the Minnesota Vikings in what was a dismal performance on a Monday night.

Foles went 15-of-26 for only 106 yards before suffering a hip injury. Those were not his stats for a small portion of the game. He only left the game with 44 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. The offense also combined for a total of 41 rushing yards against a Vikings defense that allows over 122 rushing yards per game.

So it is painfully clear the offense is a disaster. Whose fault is it? Nagy? The quarterbacks? At this point, it appears to be the entire offensive philosophy mixed in with average play at quarterback. Remember when Foles basically called out Nagy for not understanding the basic flow of a game as a play-caller? That wasn’t a great sign either even after Nagy relinquished play-calling duties.

The worst part of all of this is the fact the Bears’ offense is wasting what is a solid defense. The unit ranks near the top of the NFL allowing 20.9 points per game and is also in the top third of the league with an average of 340 yards allowed per game.

The problem is the offense averaging 19.1 points per game. Only the New York Jets are worse at a dismal 14.9 points on average. The Jets are also the only team worse than the Bears in terms of yards per game. Ranking near the winless Jets in any category is a bad sign.

Now the Bears are set to take on a Packers team averaging over 30 points per game. Aaron Rodgers is playing near an MVP level and there has been zero evidence the Bears offense can get into any sort of shootout. The team has reached the 30-point mark once all season and that came against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 3.

The Bears don’t even know who is starting at quarterback and there is a chance both Foles and Trubisky can’t go. Even if one of them is able to start there will be questions. Foles would be returning from what initially appeared to be a serious injury and Trubisky hasn’t thrown a pass since Week 3. He too had a shoulder injury that looked to be serious at first and he has been out since the start of November.

The Bears are only one game back of the Arizona Cardinals for the final NFC playoff spot. Before worrying about that, Nagy needs to come up with a plan just to reach 20 points Sunday against the Packers.