Staley Da Bear
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- Mar 16, 2019
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Wims, who recorded one catch for nine yards against the Saints, initiated contact with New Orleans cornerback C.J. Gardner-Johnson and threw the first punch after a five-yard catch by Allen Robinson II.
Wims was the Bears' seventh-round pick in 2018 out of Georgia and had worked his way from practice squad member to contributor over the past three years.
Nagy stressed the need for discipline after the team was called for seven penalties totaling 53 yards.
"Guys are fighting," said Nagy. "They're sticking together. But then you have that happen. It takes away everything that you work hard to get to and fight for, and what bothers me is we've got a lot of good guys that are doing things the right way, and then it just takes it away."
Quarterback Nick Foles declined to comment on the fight or any conversations about the matter in the locker room. Like Nagy, defensive tackle Akiem Hicks did not see the incident but offered a measured opinion on the situation.
"This game of football is pretty emotional, right?" said Hicks. "We've got a lot of things going on, extrinsic and intrinsic. You know what I'm saying? These situations that we have to cover and we have to be prepared for. I think that I've lost my cool before. It's part of the game. The elite, and if you want to be elite, you have to be able to control some of those moments."
Consistency at kicker: Cairo Santos has become one of the Bears' most reliable players in recent weeks. The veteran kicker connected on all three field goals against the Saints, including a 51-yarder into a strong wind to send the game to overtime.
Santos ran onto the field with the Bears down three points. He made both of his long attempts, the first being negated by a Saints timeout aimed at icing Santos.
"We were able to execute it at the end of regulation," said Foles, "and give ourselves the opportunity to push the game into overtime. Our special teams did a great job. Cairo did a great job."
A late addition to the team, Santos has made the most of his opportunity filling in for an injured Eddy Piñeiro. Santos has connected on 14 of 16 attempts this season, including a career-long 55-yarder against the Carolina Panthers.
Santos has connected on his last 10 attempts, with his last miss coming in Week 3 against the Atlanta Falcons.
New Package: Quarterback Mitchell Trubisky retook the field against the Saints, serving as a running threat.
Though he only appeared for one play, rushing for a three-yard gain, Nagy hinted that opposing teams might see more of the former starting quarterback in the future.
"He's done a really good job in his role that he's in right now," said Nagy. "It's a weapon for us to be able to use his legs, and then, obviously, be able to throw the ball as well. That's something that we're looking at, and every game could be a little bit different, but it's something that teams have to prepare for."
Trubisky has rushed for 949 yards and seven touchdowns in his career, including 421 yards and three touchdowns in 2018.
Trouble with OT: The Bears entered fairly unfamiliar territory after Santos' 51-yarder tied the game.
The team has only gone to overtime three times since Nagy took over as head coach. Sunday's loss drops Nagy's record in overtime games to 0-3. The Bears have lost all three games by a field goal.
The team went to overtime twice in Nagy's first season, with the most recent occurrence coming in December 2018 against the New York Giants. Like Sunday's game against the Saints, the Bears nearly pulled off a comeback win, with Anthony Miller catching a one-yard touchdown pass from running back Tarik Cohen as time expired.
With Wil Lutz's game-winning 35-yarder coming with under two minutes to play, the Bears also came close to recording their first tie in decades. The team's last tie came in 1972 against the Los Angeles Rams—six years before Nagy's birth.