Matt Eberflus' cowardice cost the Bears their biggest win of the season
There are about a dozen different positive takes you could come up with after the Bears' heartbreaking loss to the Packers on Sunday afternoon. For example, Caleb Williams looked more comfortable, the offense had a bit more rhythm, and Rome Odunze continued to look like he's starting to grow into a larger role. It was a largely-encouraging performance from the team, especially considering how miserable the week leading up to Week 11 was.
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And yet, thanks to Matt Eberflus, no one's going to talk about any of that. In the biggest (not to mention most high profile) game of the Bears' season to-date, Eberflus once again proved that he's out of his depth as an NFL head coach. With the game on the line, possession of the ball, and more than enough time on the clock, Eberflus' conservative approach actively worked against the offense, forcing them to settle for a 46-yard field goal attempt that could have easily been much closer. The Bears notoriously refuse to fire coaches in the middle of the season, but after Eberflus let the first Packers win in almost six years slip through his fingers, it'd be hard to blame them for changing their minds.
Matt Eberflus once again proved he's not the right coach for the Bears
Why drain the clock and not run a play before the field goal?
— CHGO Bears (@CHGO_Bears) November 17, 2024
Eberflus: "They were a loaded box there, you could say you could run another play and try for a couple of yards there, but you risk a fumble."
Said he was confident with where they were on the field.
The Bears got the ball back for the last time with just under three minutes left in the 4th quarter and proceeded to immediately give up back-to-back sacks, which isn't really on Eberflus but looks terrible all the same. Then, after some Williams/Odunze magic, suddenly the Bears found themselves in total control of the game – with 35 seconds left, they were comfortably at Green Bay's 30 yard line with a timeout in hand.
On first down, they gave it to Roschon Johnson for a two-yard run up the middle. Then they just ... waited. And waited. And waited some more. An offense that had moved 60 yards in less than two minutes, with a timeout to kill, decided to settle for a mid-range field goal instead. Instead of pushing the ball downfield – to either go for the kill shot or at least get Cairo Santos a more comfortable chip shot attempt – they decided to do literally nothing. Santos absolutely has the leg to hit a 46 yarder, but that's beside the point – the head coach of the Chicago Bears decided that two downs and 30 seconds of game clock at the very end of a 1-point game against their biggest rival weren't necessary or important.
You play dumb games, you win dumb prizes. And this week's prize might be a bright pink piece of paper.
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