In a season full of losses, including a Hail Mary defeat, nothing was more painful for the Chicago Bears than Thursday’s Thanksgiving Day loss to the Detroit Lions.
This led to heavy questioning of head coach Matt Eberflus after the game.
The Bears looked in prime form to at worst force overtime with a first-and-10 at Detroit’s 25-yard line with 46 seconds and two timeouts left in the endgame, 23-20. From there, the Bears lost 16 yards and ran just three plays.
Chicago got one play after quarterback Caleb Williams was sacked with 32 seconds left in the game. It was a downhill pass that fell incomplete as time expired. Even if Rome Odunze caught the ball, the Bears wouldn’t have time to attempt a field goal. The game ended and the Bears took a rest period with them to the losers’ locker room.
Explained by Matt Eberflus
After the game, Eberflus was repeatedly asked to explain the final sequence and why the Bears didn’t use their final timeout. He told reporters that he “loved what we did there” and that he hoped to save the final timeout to set up a potential game-tying field goal after the final play was run.
“We were hoping to get from third to fourth [down] that we’re going to lose this play with 18 seconds left, throw it into the zone, get into field goal range and call a timeout,” Eberflus said. “There it was. That was our decision-making process.
“We were out of field goal range. We needed to get a few more yards there, as close as possible. And then we called a timeout. That’s why we kept that last timeout at the end of the game.” “
Eberflus was then asked why he didn’t call a timeout when the game clock went under 10 seconds.
“We like the game we had,” Eberflus said. “We were hoping for that [Williams] I wanted to call it – jump into the ball. And then we would call time out right there.
“When it’s down by seven, then you call a timeout there, you’re basically throwing the ball into the end zone. Because when it’s down by 12, you can’t throw it in without a timeout.”
“I think we handled it the right way”
Eberflus was then asked what he would have done differently in retrospect. He told reporters at the time: “I think we handled it the right way.”
“I like what we did there,” Eberflus continued. “Again, once it’s down seven … actually down 12 — you really have no choice. Because it’s third-and-four and then you have to throw it into the end zone.”
“I think we handled it the right way. I believe you just have to lose the game, get it in the limit and call a timeout. That’s why we held it. It didn’t work out the way we wanted it to.”
Apparently the Bears didn’t do it the “right way”. And because of that, Eberflus was once again asked about his job security during a season full of game missteps by his team.
“I’m going to keep grinding and working, that’s what I’m doing,” Eberflus said.
What else is he going to say at this point?
The mood in the post-match locker room was understandably somber. One reporter asked Eberflus about the players and said he did not offer the team his normal postgame address. Eberflus denied that was the case and said he addressed the team as usual, calling it “the same operation.”
DJ Moore: “We just fucked the bed”
In the locker room, receiver DJ Moore commented on the late-game collapse.
“We have to find a way to win,” Moore said. “We keep coming back to these games. And we have time to actually win the game and we just s***ed the bed.”
As for why the Bears didn’t call a timeout on the final play? Moore doesn’t know.
“I don’t think we cuddled,” Moore said. “We just got back to the ball and made plays. Like I said, I don’t know why we didn’t call a timeout.”
When asked why endgame situations keep breaking down for the Bears, linebacker 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 would at least kick a goal. That’s it. It happened.”
Eberflus was asked if the players were losing confidence in his leadership.
“We must pull together,” Ebeflus said in response. “We must pull together, still believe in each other.”
When Eberflus asked him about his responsibility for Chicago’s failed finish, he took the blame.
“I’m the head football coach,” Eberflus continued. “Of course I take the blame. You do it. We didn’t do it. It starts at the top. It starts here. The responsibility is with me. Again, we have to do better, we have to do better.”
It’s not the first time this season that Eberflus has had to deal with late-game failures. He is running out of chances to explain.