The hidden reasons for the Chicago Bears failures in 2023
There are hidden reasons the Chicago Bears 2023 season has been a failure so far. The best one to start with is about Matt Eberflus. I believe Eberflus' conservative approach to playing defense was also forced by him upon the Bears' offense in a big way in 2023. As everyone knows so far the results have been disastrous. I find it hard to believe that Luke Getsy has been all in on their one-dimensional approach to offense that has all but ignored Justin Fields' strengths.
Strong evidence that Eberflus interfered with the offense comes from this interview given in the offseason. Justin Fields said this about Luke Getsy, "In the last (preseason) game, he was asking me what pass plays I like. Boom, what I like to run. I told him 'this play, this play, this play' and he ran all of them." This does not sound like an offensive coordinator who planned on ignoring what plays his QB wanted to run.
Matt Eberflus is not the right fit for the Chicago Bears
This is not to say that the vast majority of plays called during a game and over a season, need to dovetail with his best skills as a QB. The Chicago Bears also need to give Justin Fields opportunities to improve his skills in the short passing game and plays where he has to make reads showing he can dissect a defense and then deliver the ball with very good timing. However, one extreme or the other is not the best way for him to become the best version of himself as a quarterback.
Based on how poorly the Bears played against the Packers in Week 1 is compelling evidence Matt Eberflus choked on the big moment of this big game. It appears his strategy to win the biggest game the Bears have played since their playoff appearance in 2018 was to play it as risk-averse as possible on both offense and defense. To quote Shakespeare, “A coward dies a thousand times before his death, but the valiant taste of death but once." Up to this point, this quote appears to sum up Matt Eberflus's fate with the Bears and possibly Ryan Pole's fate as well.