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The Chicago Bears endured yet another painful defeat on Thanksgiving Day when they fell short and dropped a 23-20 decision to the Detroit Lions.
"Next question. No comment."
Kyler Gordon on if there's an underlying reason for these close losses. pic.twitter.com/NEvG7R2yI4
— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) November 28, 2024
The Bears mounted a dramatic comeback in the second half against the powerful Lions and were in a position to tie the score or actually win the game in the final seconds. However, after Caleb Williams had driven the ball into field goal range in the final minute, the Bears collapsed on the field and the sidelines.
Williams was sacked at the Green Bay 41-yard line by Za'Darius Smith with 36 seconds remaining. However, instead of using their final timeout, head coach Matt Eberflus decided to let the clock run. As a result, the Bears only got in one more play before the end of the game. On that play, Williams threw an incomplete pass to rookie wideout Rome Odunze that fell incomplete at the 5-yard line.
Eberflus has been widely criticized for his previous end-of-game management in previous losses to the Washington Commanders, Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings, but this may have been the most painful of all. The Bears (4-8) have lost six games in a a row after a 4-2 start.
Questions abound in Bears locker room
As criticism of Eberflus poured in from multiple directions after the game, Bears players faced a barrage of postgame questions.
Defensive back Kyler Gordon was not interested in addressing the reasons behind yet another painful defeat when he was asked about the loss to the Lions (11-1).
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Gordon thought about the question and had a wry smile on his face before he said that he could not provide an answer. “No comment,” he said. “Next question.”
It seemed that Gordon was deep in thought and perhaps did not want to blame his head coach or anyone else for the series of stinging defeats the Bears have suffered in recent weeks.
After the game, Eberflus tried to defend his actions, saying he wanted to call timeout after the next play if the Bears had gotten it off quickly and completed a pass in the middle of the field.
“I like what we did there,” Eberflus said. “Again, once it's under seven [seconds], you're going to call a timeout there — actually under 12 and then really you don't have an option because it's third to fourth, you have to throw it into the end zone then.”
The argument made by the Bears head coach did not take into account that the Bears still had to get a play into Williams and the rookie quarterback had to communicate it to his teammates while attempting to read the Detroit defense.
Williams and the Bears mounted a major comeback with three second-half touchdowns. The quarterback completed 20 of 39 passes for 256 yards with 3 TDs and no interceptions. He also scrambled four times for 39 yards.
