And the fire razed the house as Matt Eberflus gets fired.
Update: Matt Eberflus has been fired following the Bears’ latest meltdown. Finally.
Matt Eberflus is under the microscope again after the Bears somehow found a way to fumble the bag—this time, figuratively and literally—against the Detroit Lions. The 23-20 loss was a lesson in how not to manage a clock during crunch time.
Here’s the scene in the NFL: Chicago’s down three, they’re in Lions territory with a timeout in their pocket, and all they need is to set up a reasonable field goal to force overtime.
Instead, Caleb Williams takes a sack on second-and-20, and instead of stopping the clock, the Bears scramble to run another play. They don’t get the play off in time, and the final pass falls incomplete as the clock runs out. Game over.
When reporters pressed Eberflus about the sequence, he stuck to his guns.
“I like what we did there. To me, I think we handled it the right way. It didn’t work out the way we wanted to.”
Come on, man. How do you defend that?
Eberflus explained that the idea was to save the last timeout to set up a field goal. His hope was to “Re-rack that play at 18 seconds, throw it inbounds, get into field-goal range, and call a timeout.” Great plan—on paper. But in real-time, it all went sideways.
Williams admitted he adjusted the play at the line, trying to make something happen. “I made an adjustment because I saw the clock running down,” he said. “I knew if we completed a ball inbounds, we wouldn’t have time to kick a field goal.”
His deep shot to Rome Odunze was the last gasp, but it didn’t even come close. Game over. And yeah, Williams is a rookie. He’s going to make mistakes. But Eberflus is supposed to guide him through those moments—not leave him out there guessing.
To his credit, Eberflus didn’t try to dodge the blame. “I’m the head football coach, so I’m taking the blame,” he said. “It starts at the top, and it starts right here. I’ve got to do it better.”
But this loss isn’t just about one bad sequence. It’s the latest bad sequence in a season full of them. Chicago has now dropped six straight and sits at 4-8. That’s four straight seasons starting 4-8 or worse, by the way. Fans are frustrated, and the questions about Eberflus’ job security aren’t going away anytime soon.
When asked about his future, Matt Eberflus gave the classic “grind” answer. “I’m just gonna keep grinding and working. That’s what I do.”
Let’s be fair: Caleb Williams is a rookie. He’s playing in one of the loudest stadiums in the league, against a team that’s a legitimate Super Bowl contender. Mistakes are going to happen. But that’s exactly why the coach is supposed to step up in those moments and make things easier for his quarterback. Instead, Matt Eberflus seemed just as lost as his team.
Williams summed it up pretty well: “Whatever that situation is, that’s going to be coach’s call. I’m trying to lead the guys to win and get everybody lined up.”
You can’t blame a rookie for looking to his coach for guidance—and not getting it.
The Bears head to San Francisco in Week 14 to face the 49ers. If this mess doesn’t light a fire under Matt Eberflus and his staff, it’s hard to imagine what will. But for fans, the clock might already be ticking on his time in Chicago.
Image: © Kimberly P. Mitchell / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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