In a season full of heartbreaking losses, including a Hail Mary loss, nothing was more painful for the Chicago Bears than Thursday’s Thanksgiving loss to the Detroit Lions.
It led to tough questions for head coach Matt Eberflus after the game.
The Bears appeared to be in top form to force overtime at worst on first-and-10 at the Detroit 25-yard line with 46 seconds and two timeouts remaining while trailing, 23-20. From that point on, the Bears lost 16 yards and ran only three plays.
Chicago got one playoff after quarterback Caleb Williams was sacked with 32 seconds left on the game clock. It was a cross-field pass that fell incomplete as time expired. Even if Rome Odunze had caught the ball, the Bears wouldn’t have had time for a field goal. The game was over and the Bears took a timeout into the losing locker room.
Matt Eberflus’ explanation
After the game, Eberflus was asked repeatedly to explain the final sequence and why the Bears didn’t use their final timeout. He told reporters that “I like what we did there” and that he hoped to hold on last timeout to set up a potential tying field goal on the final play.
“Our hope was because it was third and fourth [down] that we would replay that play after 18 seconds, throw it in bounds, get within field goal range and call a timeout,” Eberflus said.” There it was. That was our decision-making process on that.
“We were out of field goal range. We had to get a few more yards there, as close as we could. And then we were going to call a timeout. That’s why we had that last timeout at the end of the game.”
Eberflus was then asked why he didn’t call a timeout when the game clock was under 10 seconds.
“We love the game we played,” Eberflus said. “We hoped so [Williams] would call it – let the ball snap. And then we would have called the timeout right there.
“If it’s under seven there, you call a timeout there, you’re actually throwing the ball into the end zone. Because once it’s under 12, you can’t throw it in without a timeout.”
‘I think we handled it well’
Ebrflus was then asked what he would have done differently in retrospect. Then he told reporters: “I think we handled it the right way.”
“I like what we did there,” Eberflus continued. “Again, if it’s under seven, actually under 12, you don’t really have a choice. Because it’s third to fourth, and you have to throw it in the end zone.
“I think we handled it the right way. I really believe you just have to replay the game, keep it contained and call a timeout. That’s why we kept it. It didn’t work the way we wanted.”
The Bears clearly didn’t handle it “the right way.” And that is why, during a season full of game-deciding blunders by his team, Eberflus was asked again about his job security.
“I just keep grinding and working, that’s what I do,” Eberflus said.
What else is he going to say at this point?
The mood in the dressing room after the match was understandably somber. A reporter asked Eberflus about players saying he didn’t offer his normal address to the team after the game. Eberflus denied this was the case and said he addressed the team as usual, calling it “the same operation.”
DJ Moore: ‘We just fuck the bed’
In the locker room, receiver DJ Moore talked about the late-game collapse.
“We have to find a way to win,” Moore said. “We keep coming back in these games. And we have time to actually win the game and we just fuck the bed.”
And why didn’t the Bears call a timeout on the last play? Moore doesn’t know.
“I don’t think we were huddled,” Moore said. “We just got the ball back and made a play. Like I said, I don’t know why we didn’t call a timeout.”
When asked why late-game situations keep going wrong for the Bears, cornerback Kyler Gordon didn’t want to talk about it.
“Next question,” Gordon said. “No comment.”
As for the end of Thursday’s game?
“I’m not going to lie to you,” Gordon said. “I thought we’d at least make a field goal. It is what it is. It happened.’
Eberflus was asked about players who lost confidence in his leadership.
“We have to work together,” Ebeflus said in response. “We just have to keep working together, keep believing in each other.”
When asked about his responsibility in the failed execution of the endgame in Chicago, Eberflus took the blame.
“I’m the head football coach,” Eberflus continued. “I’ll take the blame, of course. That’s what you do. We didn’t get it done. That starts at the top. That starts here. The responsibility here is on me. Again, we just have to do better. I must do better.”
It is not the first time this season that Eberflus has suffered late-game failures. He’s running out of chances to explain himself.
