The Chicago Bears suffered yet another heartbreaking loss in their Thanksgiving Day game against the division rival Detroit Lions, and fans quickly turned the blame on coach Matt Eberflus.
After falling behind by multiple scores in the first half, Chicago stormed back in the second to cut Detroit’s lead to just 23-20. The Bears started what would be the final possession of the game on the one-yard line before driving to get into field goal range.
However, an illegal hands to the face penalty followed by a Caleb Williams sack dropped them back further, and despite having a timeout in the bank with 36 seconds to play in field goal range, Eberflus watched the clock tick down to the final seconds before Williams overthrew a deep ball to a covered Rome Odunze as time expired.
It was a truly baffling way to lose, but while Bears fans bemoan another frustrating loss in what has turned into a 4-8 campaign, Eberflus defended his game management decisions.
“I think we handled it the right way,” he said, according to Jason Lieser of the Chicago Sun-Times.
Bears fans are fed up as a season in which the team has a plus-one point differential has resulted in a losing record, and Eberflus likely occupies a fairly hot seat as his record in Chicago drops to just 14-32 in three seasons.
“This is the NFL; I know where it is,” Eberflus said of his job security per Lieser. “I’m just going to put my best foot forward and keep grinding.”
It was a good game for Williams, who had 256 yards with three touchdowns and has mostly been a bright spot for the team during his rookie campaign. But with a winnable game against the top team in the league having gone by the wayside, Eberflus faces some tough questions.
And it seems fans probably aren’t going to like the answers.