Head coach Matt Eberflus of the Chicago Bears looks on during the second quarter against the New England Patriots at Soldier Field on Nov. 10, 2024, in Chicago.
The Chicago Bears lost their sixth game in a row Thursday, losing in gut-wrenching fashion to a division rival for the third week in a row, as the Bears struggled to get a play off before time expired in a 23-20 loss to the Detroit Lions, the NFC's best team.
The Bears had the ball near midfield with an opportunity to tie the game or even take the lead, but after Caleb Williams was sacked, the team’s offense seemingly was in scramble mode trying to set up a formation as the clock ticked down from 36 seconds.
The Bears only managed one more play, an incomplete pass intended for Rome Odunze, and the Lions escaped with the victory.
The problem? The Bears had a timeout left, and Eberflus did not call it.
Several members of the NFL media were quick to call out Eberflus for the apparent lapse that allowed the Lions to move to 11-1 on the season.
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Former NFL quarterback Matt Ryan also criticized Eberflus' decision during the postgame show on CBS.
"This is unacceptable from the head coach. Your responsibility is not to panic in critical situations...That is a massive, massive fail by Matt Eberflus," Ryan said.
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Former Super Bowl winning head coach Bill Cowher, also a member of CBS' studio crew, said that Eberflus "just froze" as the game clock ticked down.
After the QB Draw call on 2nd and 20, you can call timeout & get the perfect play called on 3rd Down to get back into FG range.
— Chase Daniel (@ChaseDaniel) November 28, 2024
You can then easily have enough time left in game to run your FG unit onto the field for “fast FG” on 4th down.
With the loss bringing the Bears to a 4-8 record, sports television host Colin Cowherd offered a sarcastic remark about Eberflus' performance with the team.
I guess this means I have to eliminate Matt Eberflus from coach of the year consideration.
— Colin Cowherd (@colincowherd) November 28, 2024
The Bears will look to get back in the win column on Sunday, Dec. 8, when they will take on the San Francisco 49ers on the road.
