Whether you want to frame it as conservative or cowardly is your choice. Call it what you want. But Chicago Bears Head Coach Matt Eberflus’ coaching philosophies directly snatched defeat from the jaws of victory in Week 11. And in doing so, the Bears’ winless streak against the Green Bay Packers was extended to 11 games.
In short: The Bears offense was marching down the field with 35 seconds left on the clock. Chicago could have continued to play aggressively against a Green Bay defense that was on its heels. Instead, Eberflus let the clock run down all the way down to three seconds. And you know what happened next:
THE PACKERS WIN IT 🤯
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) November 17, 2024
Santos' 46-yard FG attempt is blocked
📺 FOX pic.twitter.com/EjviGj7RQ3
It was the play before the Hail Mary that set up the Washington Commanders for a miraculous win in Week 8. Three games later, it is the lack of a play that helps sink the Bears’ chances to win and helps deliver victory to the Packers. Football is a cruel game. But if your team’s coaches continue to make the same mistakes, to expect different results would be insanity. One day later, Eberflus doubled down on the decision in his Monday press conference. It should come as no surprise that Matt Eberflus is standing by his decision, even if there is evidence that suggests he should — at a minimum — have given it a second thought.
This is what Coach Flus had to say about his decision:
“They were loading the box there,” Eberflus said, via ESPN. “You could say you could do that for sure, maybe get a couple more yards, but you’re also going to risk fumbling and different things there. We felt where we were, if we’re at the 36 or 35, you definitely want to do that because you want to get it inside there. I felt very confident where we were at that time with the wind and where we were on the field.”
Even with the run defense loading the box, running back D’Andre Swift was averaging 5.1 yards per carry. Rookie quarterback Caleb Williams had 70 yards on 9 carries. Plus, he was throwing the ball with poise and accuracy while delivering it quickly so as to avoid pressures, hurries, and sacks. Matt Eberflus’ decision-making was costly — even the math says so:
Another loss that perfectly sums up the Matt Eberflus era
Would you expect Cairo Santos to hit the kick? Absolutely. But your offense was humming and Green Bay’s defense was on its heels. Chicago’s offense had 35 seconds and a timeout to play with, so it’s not as if time working against the team was a factor in this moment. But instead of pushing forward, Eberflus played scared and decided against working to get extra yardage to make it an even easier attempt for Santos. Matt Eberflus’ mentality in these late-game situations should get people at Halas Hall questioning if Eberflus is the right guy to lead the charge moving forward.
Another loss that can be directly chalked up to Matt Eberflus’ failure as a head coach. I’d be surprised if it didn’t happen to be a recurring theme of the Eberflus era in Chicago. Where do we even begin?
We can discuss how players on the other team know the Bears’ tendencies better than their own coaches do. This Kalyn Kahler tweet feels telling…
… especially since it came one week after CHGO’s Nicholas Moreano shared this after the Bears’ loss to the Patriots:
That is the kind of loss that helps folks understand why fans have been calling for Matt Eberflus’ job for weeks. And that explanation doesn’t help the coach’s defense. No wonder we have already begun looking ahead at future head coaching targets around here.
The 46 players who suited up for the Bears deserved to win that game on Sunday. They showed the type of resiliency that I didn’t think we’d see from this team again. And they played a strong game against a Packers team that had every possible reason to blow a team in disarray out of the water. But not only did the Packers let the Bears hang around, they allowed them to get into a position to win the game. But as has often been the case in Chicago, coaching led the team to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.