If Bears ownership has indeed decided to wait until after the season to inform coach Matt Nagy of his fate, then it can be a sumed there at least is a tiny chance he could save his job.It would take some persuading and a three-game winning streak to finish the season definitely wouldn't hurt, especially when there are 24 teams still in Marco Estrada Jersey the playoff hunt and the Bears are not one of them.In fact, if the Bears don't win all three games it would seem whatever chance there is could vanish. However, beating the Giants and then Minnesota after the Packers eliminate the Vikings from the playoff chase this week would at least give some momentum to Nagy's last stand.The Vikings might actually be playing to save Mike Zimmer's job then, too, and this would make for an interesting finish to what so far looks like a boring, meaningle s season's end.Standing up and fighting to be retained is going to require throwing general manager Ryan Pace under the bus, but perhaps it's a way to remain employed. Then again, Pace might have been run over by that proverbial bus already.Here are the arguments Nagy could use as he argues he is worth keeping.1. One Losing Season, Winning RecordThis might not be his best argument but it is true it's his only losing season and he would be 7-10 with three wins. This isn't nearly as awful as the records of the Jets, Giants, Jaguars, Texans and Lions. Also, even if the Bears lose the last two games and he is fired, Nagy will finish in Chicago with a winning record overall. He's 33-30. Then again, Lovie Smith had a winning record overall and was 10-6 in his last season but was fired.2. Two Playoff Berths in Four TriesThis is the only year the Bears didn't make any type of playoff bid, and too many factors prevented one. These factors, or excusesor rather, argumentswill be part Roy Halladay Jersey of the remaining evidence submitted for retention.3. InjuriesVery early in the season they lost Khalil Mack, easily their best defensive player. Bears injuries or COVID-19 absences this year included many of their best players, from Eddie Jackson's hamstring injury, to the knee injury for Andy Dalton and Justin Fields' ribs and ankle injuries. They were without a healthy Danny Trevathan virtually all season, Eddie Goldman for the early part of the year and their tackle situation on offense has been in a constant state of flux due to injuries and COVID-19. Maybe the worst situation was losing top receiver Allen Robinson e sentially from Nov. 8 on, because he has been only back for one game in that period and had just two receptions and 14 yards in a 45-30 lo s at Green Bay.Injuries can't be used as an excuse in the NFL, we are often told. But Nagy could trot out the Mangameslost.com website and point to the approximate value of players' games lost as well as weighted approximate value of players' games lost. The Bears were sixth overall in lost weighted approximate value and eighth in average approximate value of players lost, while they were only 18th in total games lost. So they not only lost players but lost some of their most irreplaceable players.How does a coach argue this?It's easy. He points out the general manager didn't get him adequate replacements for the bench. Of course, Baltimore, Green Bay, San Francisco and maybe New Orleans are all top-four teams in terms of number of lost players. They lost more than the Bears, and they're all either in the playoffs or competing into Week 17. Maybe the GMs for those teams supplied adequate backup help.4. QB Plan ScuttledMatt Nagy's plan was to start Andy Dalton at Jaime Garcia Jersey quarterback, and according to a report by Pro Football Weekly's Hub Arkush, it was team board chairman George McCaskey who decided it was time to start Justin Fields in Week 4. Arkush is a longtime pro football writer who doesn't publish this without good sources.The Bears had to play Fields then, anyway. Dalton had a bone bruise to his knee but it didn't mean they had to stick with Fields after he beat Detroit and the Raiders.Fields lost his first start, won two straight, and since then they have lost his last seven starts.The team's long six-game losing streak could be blamed, in part, on Fields' inexperience. Their struggles came with him starting during the toughest stretch of games. If they had let Nagy go back to starting Dalton, then maybe they finish above .500 or even in the playoffs. Dalton did win as starter against Detroit on Thanksgiving due to Fields' broken ribs. Then the Bears had another veteran starter last Sunday when Nick Foles played, and he was able to beat Seattle on the road when the Seahawks needed to win to avoid elimination. It almost seems as if Nagy has been pushing this rookie QB argument up front lately. At first, the talk of Fields' inexperience was hushed up as an explanation for defeat Not now."We're aware that when you draft a quarterback, there's gonna be some experiences and time that he needs to be able to get better and let Roberto Osuna Jersey the game slow down for him," Nagy said. "Now with Nick, with Andy, we have two experienced quarterbacks that have played a lot of NFL snaps and a lot of big moments. Justin's done it on the college side, but he's building that on the NFL side now."Scroll to ContinueThe rookie needs time to learn, Nagy argued."So I think that we all understand as coaches, his teammates all understand as playersJustins teammatesthat when he's out there, there's gonna be some concepts and some defenses that he's never seen in this league," Nagy said. "So it might not look as natural or as easy but that's gonna happen and I think with Justin when that comes and when you develop him and you're patient with that, you can really reap the benefits of his talent."It is interesting how Nagy said when "you develop him" and "you're patient with that," rather than "we."It almost sounds as if he's already been told Toronto Blue Jays Jersey he is being fired after this year.5. GM Neglected CornerbacksThe great mystery for this year is how the Bears can be fourth on pa s defense like they are but struggling on defense at times. Part of the answer is Robert Quinn's 17 sacks, half a sack from matching the team record. It accounts for a lot of lost opposing yardage.The other part is their run defense is so bad that they are attacked le s often through the air as a result.When the Bears have had to defend the pa s later in games they have been bad. They allowed Green Bay, San Francisco, Baltimore and Pittsburgh key late-game drives in lo ses. Their struggles have been the result of inexperienced cornerbacks or some without much talent. Pace never replaced cornerback Kyle Fuller with someone who could play the position. He could have had Rasul Douglas as a cut victim for a month and a half but let the Packers sign him and now Douglas has five interceptions. The entire Bears team has only six, and they will break a team record for fewest picks if they don't get two in the next two games.All of these reasons on Nagy's side are offset by one huge argument