The Chicago Beas (2-1) were able to get back in the win column with a 23-20 victory over the Houston Texans (0-2-1), but it wasn’t without its concerns.
Quarterback Justin Fields was the focal point before, during and after the game. But there are also questions about first-time head coach Matt Eberflus’ time management.
At the end of the first half, the Bears defense forced a Texans punt, which gave Chicago an opportunity to march down the field and end the first half on a positive note.
With :46 left on the clock, Khalil Herbert picked up a first down on Chicago’s 28-yard line. Armed with all three timeouts, Eberflus elected to let the clock run down to :19 before running a final play, where Fields was sacked to end the half.
Eberflus explained his decision not to utilize his timeouts at the end of the first half — and he also admitted his shortcomings.
“Right there we were at 46 seconds and we want to bring that down on the minus field to 35 seconds because they have multiple time-outs,” Eberflus said. “If you get that first down and they bang time-outs and we punt the ball, then they have a rebuttal drive.
“But here is where we’ve got to be better because we were in 13 personnel going in 13 and 1 and we saw that they subbed. Once I saw them sub there, I should have called time out at 35 seconds and we would have been fine. I have to be better in that situation right there going from 13 personnel back to 11 once we got the first.”
Eberflus’ time management struggles aren’t encouraging, especially given his predecessor, Matt Nagy, was known for the same. But he’s still early into his head coaching career, and there’s time to fix things.
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