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It looked as though the Chicago Bears were going to find a way to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, as they threatened to make the Detroit Lions pay for their inability to execute well late in the game. But in the spirit of Thanksgiving, the Lions will be very thankful for Bears head coach Matt Eberflus and his perplexing crunch-time decision-making in what ended up being a 23-20 loss for Chicago.
With 32 seconds to go and a third-and-26 facing the Bears after an unfortunate six-yard loss on a sack to quarterback Caleb Williams, the Bears decided not to call a timeout — with Eberflus perhaps looking for his team to set up a quick play and gain a few more yards to at least get into field-goal range before extending the game with a timeout. However, Williams and the Bears changed up the play call, burning the clock even further, and by the time the ball was snapped, Chicago had to get the ball to the end zone however they can — which they couldn't as Rome Odunze failed to catch the ball.
Just to put in perspective how confounding this decision was from Eberlus and the Bears, OptaSTATS pointed out on X (formerly Twitter) that of the 1,501 times that an NFL team has lost a game in regulation by a deficit of one to three points over the past 30 years, only the Bears on November 28, 2024 “ran a play from inside the opponent's 30 on the final drive but ultimately had time expire without bringing out the FG unit & without using all their timeouts”.
Matt Eberflus and the Bears continue to be the comedic gift that keeps on giving
The Bears were already turning the heads of the NFL world with how they mounted a huge comeback after the Lions took a 16-0 lead at the halftime interval. It did help that the Lions had some self-inflicted wounds, but credit goes to the Bears for taking advantage and putting themselves in a position to even win the game in the dying embers.
However, it simply feels as though the Bears cannot have nice things, even on Thanksgiving. Caleb Williams was left hung out to dry by Eberflus, as he had to switch up the play after recognizing that they won't be able to call a timeout if they were able to execute the original playcall. And to make matters worse, Eberflus is even defending his late-game blunder. It truly might be time for a coaching change in the Windy City.
