Tag: 2023 NFL Week 10

Bears coach Matt Eberflus likely hyped up a boring Tush Push play with awkward halftime interview

Matt Eberflus was so excited to unveil a 1-yard rush.

In terms of putting feet in one’s mouth, Matt Eberflus has had a banner season for the last-place Chicago Bears. Earlier this year, the coach fielded nearly 20 consecutive questions about Chase Claypool. Then, with Justin Fields’ health weirdly in question but also not in question (?), Eberflus delivered us some incredible word salad about the quarterback’s status.

As the Bears took on the Carolina Panthers in a Thursday night snoozer (hey, Jason Kelce!), Eberflus changed things up. He said the Bears have something “up our sleeves” in a halftime interview. With the giddiest smile on his face, one could only imagine what Eberflus was referring to.

The imagination runs wild!

Unless we’re missing something, it was probably referring to a (checks notes) one-yard “Tush Push” with starting tight end Cole Kmet as the ball carrier. (Note: the Bears went three-and-out on the possession just before.)

Boring, but it would be unsurprising, coming from Eberflus:

Uh, if this was indeed his intent, what did Eberflus think this play would be? Even on a successful conversion, I’m not sure a short-yardage conversion really warranted mention to the national audience at home. It’s not exciting, but Eberflus highlighting a minute detail like that would be par for the course based on his job coaching the woeful Bears.

D.J. Moore reunited with former Panthers teammate Brian Burns by literally jumping into his arms

D.J. Moore REALLY missed Brian Burns.

Aside from a random Jason Kelce appearance and some odd 2024 draft implications, there wasn’t much for your average football fan to enjoy during the Chicago Bears’ Thursday night matchup with the Carolina Panthers.

But that same sentiment didn’t apply to two crucial figures for both teams: Bears star receiver D.J. Moore and Panthers franchise pass-rusher Brian Burns. Once teammates in Carolina, Moore was traded to Chicago last spring as part of the deal that helped the Panthers land Bryce Young with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.

And when Moore finally saw Burns again on the sideline before the game in Chicago, he couldn’t help but explode with joy at seeing his friend again:

Awww. That’s just the best. Even in different cities on different teams, it’s apparent that Moore and Burns remain close friends. Shoot, I’d probably hug my pal the same if I hadn’t seen him in a while, too. Who wouldn’t?

Al Michaels seemed overjoyed that Jason Kelce’s TNF appearance temporarily saved him from Bears-Panthers

Al Michaels owes Jason Kelce a fruit basket for helping him ignore TNF.

We knew the Chicago Bears’ matchup with the Carolina Panthers on Thursday Night Football would be an atrocious rock fight. Even with some weird draft incentives for the Bears, no rational football-loving mind saw this game on paper and thought it was a burgeoning classic.

Apparently, the folks who work and produce TNF thought the same thing! So they prepared accordingly. Instead of keeping full attention on a game featuring Tyson Bagent and Bryce Young — a disappointing No. 1 overall pick — the broadcast brought in Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce into the booth.

Why, you might ask?

Well, for no discernible reason other than that Kelce is a magnetic personality, and this was one of the obvious worst TNF games on paper all year. No one, not even the announcers, really wanted to watch this matchup closely. The gambit with Kelce — easily more interesting by himself than two of the NFL’s worst teams on the field — clearly worked with an overjoyed Al Michaels. Any criticism of the announcer lacking enthusiasm seemingly faded the moment he got to talk to Kelce:

Who could possibly blame Michaels for perking up once Kelce sat next to him? He seems like such a fun guy with a lot of energy. Now imagine talking to Kelce instead of devoting your energy to a horrid football game. It’d be a no-brainer every time.