Chicago Bears coach Matt Eberflus better make sure that resume of his is up to date.
To the surprise of many, Chicago stuck right with the Detroit Lions on Thursday and found itself down 23-20 after forcing a three-and-out late in the fourth quarter.
The Bears took over at their own 1 with 3:31 remaining and worked all the way down to the Detroit 25, where tragedy struck. Chicago guard Teven Jenkins was called for illegal use of hands to push the Bears 10 yards back, then quarterback Caleb Williams was sacked for a loss of 6.
Williams was whistled down with 32 seconds to go before leisurely getting his team set up at the line of scrimmage. The Bears didn’t end up getting a snap off until there were six seconds remaining, and Williams proceeded to overthrow Rome Odunze as the clock hit zeros.
A sloppy ending? Yeah. Big time. But it gets worse.
Eberflus let it all happen with a timeout in his pocket.
Rather than using it, Eberflus opted to let his rookie quarterback take the game into his own hands and chew nearly 30 seconds of clock.
In case that wasn’t enough to make Eberflus the most hated man in Chicago on a day dedicated to giving thanks, togetherness and enjoying the company of loved ones, the 54-year-old then doubled down at the podium during his postgame press conference.
“I like what we did there,” Eberflus said of the end-of-game sequence. “To me, I think we handled it the right way.”
There is no way Eberflus should ever be able to bounce back from this. Ever. Coaching just isn’t for him.
To be fair, Williams did have the opportunity to burn the timeout, too. He didn’t, so, yes, some of the blame does in fact lie with him. However, Eberflus is far from some coaching guru. This isn’t the first time that he has looked like a deer in the headlights on the sideline, and it certainly won’t be the last if he somehow continues to stay on this career path.
What more does the Bears’ front office need to see to make a change? If only all of us had this type of job security.
Chicago fans have been absolutely going through the wringer as of late. They had to watch the Bears lose 30-27 to the Minnesota Vikings on a game-winning field goal in overtime on Sunday, a setback that came after the Green Bay Packers pulled off a 20-19 victory.
Before all that, Chicago got blown out by a pair of seemingly lesser opponents in the Arizona Cardinals and New England Patriots. Then there was that time the Bears lost to the Washington Commanders on a tipped Hail Mary at the end of regulation, marking the beginning of their current six-game skid.
A talented Chicago offense is finding new ways to get embarrassed on a weekly basis, and the man causing it still has a job. Hit the road, Eberflus. And don’t come back.
