The Chicago Bears squeaked out a victory over the Tennessee Titans during Week 1 of the 2024 regular season.
It was a game that, for the second consecutive season under head coach Matt Eberflus, the Bears came out flat. There was anticipation for the Bears' 2023 opener against the Green Bay Packers but it resulted in a loss where it became clear that Justin Fields wasn't the answer at the quarterback position and Matt Eberflus may be beyond his depths as the head coach of the team.
The Bears moved on from Fields in favor of rookie Caleb Williams but it was the slow start for Williams and the Bears' offense that may bring questions about whether or not Eberflus is the right man to be the head coach of the team.
That's not to say that Williams and the offense's struggles are on Eberflus, but the head coach is far more likely to be the scapegoat than a rookie quarterback and new offensive coordinator.
Chicago Bears' Week 1 victory was not great for Matt Eberflus.
Admittedly, there are going to be growing pains for Williams and the Bears' offense during the early weeks of the season. It's to be expected from a rookie quarter and a new offensive coordinator for the Bears.
But looking beyond the struggles of the Bears' offense, it was the struggles of the defense that should bring question if Eberflus is good at his job. Just looking at the box score, sure the Bears held the Titans to under 20 points and forced three turnovers. But, each turnover was more tied to poor decision making from Titans' second-year quarterback Will Levis than it was Eberflus scheming the defense to be in the right spot.
The Titans' offense had all of the control during the first half of the game and finished the game with a nearly ten-minute advantage over the Bears in time of possession. Without the turnovers from Levis, the Bears' defense struggled to get off the field.
For all the hype over Eberflus' new haircut and beard, the first game after the glow-up proves he may still be the same flawed head coach.
The Bears did shut out the Titans during the second half, but the formula they had on Sunday is not an overall recipe for success against teams with proven offenses—something they will see in their Week 2 game against the Houston Texans. Expectations are that the Bears will be controlling games this season and Sunday's victory felt similar to the "getting lucky" feeling that fans had last season when the team snuck out victories. If that is the prevailing feeling of the 2024 season, Eberflus is not long for the job.