Just when you think the Chicago Bears have reached rock bottom, they somehow find a way to say, “hold my beer” and invent new, incompetent ways to lose. The Bears have now lost their 6th straight game after botching the final drive and losing to Detroit 23-20 on Thanksgiving Day.
The 1st half look dismal for the Bears as they only had 54 yards of offense and 2 first downs. Surprisingly they only trailed 16-0 at halftime. The deficit would have been 23-0 but Tyrique Stevenson stripped Jahmyr Gibbs near the goal line and it was recovered by Gervon Dexter, Sr. The offense looked listless while the defense had no answer for the run combo of Gibbs and former Bear David Montgomery. Both backs ran wild on the Bears defense and the Lions were able to move the ball with ease. Credit to the Bears defense as they held Detroit to one touchdown and 3 field goals on 5 red zone possessions.
The 2nd half saw Caleb Williams bring the Bears back. The Bears opened the 3rd quarter on a 9 play, 74 yard drive to cut the lead to 16-7. After the Lions responded with a TD drive, Caleb Williams took control again and led the Bears on TD drives of 70 & 65 yards to cut the deficit to 23-20. The defense was able to hold and get off the field to give the Bears one more chance to win the game. The Bears would have to drive 99 yards to win and it seemed as though the Bears were going to do it. The Bears would get down to the Lions’ 25-yard line when it all fell apart.
Here is the sequence of events that led to the Bears demise:
- On 2nd & 10 at the Lions’ 25, Caleb Williams completed a pass to Keenan Allen for a 13-yard gain but the play is waived off due to a hands to the face penalty on Teven Jenkins
- On 2nd & 20 at the Lions’ 35, there was a jail break on the line. Both DLs broke free and sacked Caleb Williams for a 6-yard loss. The play looked like it was supposed to be a QB draw. The Lions’ defense had it snuffed cold and led to a sack
- On 3rd & 26 at the Lions’ 41 with 34 seconds left, the Bears allowed the clock to run all the way down before they ran a play with 6 seconds left. Caleb launched a ball to the vicinity of Rome Odunze that fell to the ground at the 5-yard line. Time expires. The Bears still had a timeout left but chose not to use it.
The Lions completely slept walked through this game and the Bears could not capitalize on the Lions overlooking the Bears due to coaching incompetence. The Lions played this game on cruise control and against a team with halfway decent coaching the Lions would have been caught slipping but it’s the Bears so the Lions now own a 10-game win streak while the Bears fall deeper into despair.
Stars Of The Game
- Caleb Williams, Bears – 20 for 39, 256 yards, 3 TD; 4 carries, 39 yards
- David Montgomery, Lions – 21 carries, 89 yards; 3 catches, 36 yards
- Jahmyr Gibbs, Lions – 9 carries, 87 yards; 2 catches, 17 yards
- DJ Moore, Bears – 8 catches, 97 yards, 1 TD
- Keenan Allen, Bears – 5 catches, 73 yards, 2 TDs
- DJ Reader, Lions – 4 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 TFLs, 3 QB hits
Grading The Bears
Offense: The game was literally a tale of 2 halves. The offense looked horrible in the 1st half. 54 yards of offense and 2 first downs is inexcusable. The Lions were literally laughing at how terrible the Bears looked in the 1st half. The Lions didn’t take the Bears seriously the entire game and Caleb Williams made them pay in the 2nd half. Williams erupted for three TDs in the 2nd half and had the Lions on the ropes late in the game. Alas, penalties, poor clock management and irresponsible coaching prevented Caleb from possibly winning the game. Grade: C-
Defense: Sure the defense gave up 194 yards on the ground for a 5.9 yards per rush average. Sure, the Bears allowed the Lions to get into the redzone on their first 6 possessions. What the Bears did do was surrender only 2 TDs on those 6 redzone possessions. Sure, they gave up 405 yards of offense and 25 first downs. What the defense was able to get right was they didn’t break. They got the Lions off the field when it mattered most to give the offense a chance to get back in the game and eventually a chance to win it. Grade: C
Special Teams: Tory Taylor had a punt average of 55.8 yards but had just one punt land inside of the Lions’ 20-yard line. Cairo Santos didn’t figure into the plans as he didn’t attempt any field goals. The Lions’ returners didn’t break any returns open. That was a win. Grade: C
Coaching: How many more times must coaching be the reason the team loses before ownership sees that Matt Eberflus is unqualified to be a head football coach. There was another awful challenge in the 1st half that led to the team losing a timeout. There was a challenge that wasn’t used when you had the situation late in the 4th when the Lions recovered a punt at the Bears’ 1 yard line. It looked as though the Lions player’s back heel touched the goal line while retrieving the punt. And of course there was the end of game scenario where clock management and decision making was at its worst. When you’re the head coach, you have to settle a team down and guide them to get into a position to make positive plays. To not call a timeout on 3rd & 26 is coaching malpractice. Matt Eberflus is completely incompetent and that is why the team is now on a 6-game losing streak. Grade: F
What’s Next
This was a painful loss that further exposed the Bears’ coaching staff. Matt Eberflus’ post game comments did nothing to quell the fury for those looking to call for Eberflus’ job:
“We like the play that we had. We were hoping [Williams] would get the ball snapped, and we would’ve called timeout right there. But once it’s under seven [seconds] there, if you call timeout, you’re basically throwing to the end zone [on the next play].”
“I like what we did there,” he said. “Again, once it’s under 12 [seconds], you really don’t have an option. Because it’s third [down], then fourth, and you got to throw it into the end zone then. To me, I think we handled it the right way. … It didn’t work out the way we wanted it to.”
– Matt Eberflus, Bears Head Coach
The players seemed dumbfounded by what happened at the end of the game:
“I seen the Detroit Lions walking on the field, I’m like, ‘Damn, (what) they doing? What’s going on?’ I didn’t realize the time had ran out. … And then you look up and you realize we’ve got a timeout. And it’s like, ‘Ah…”
Keenan Allen, Bears WR
“What the eff just happened?”
Cole Kmet, Bears TE
“What the hell? Nah, it was like, what the bleep?”
DJ Moore, Bears WR
According to several players, they were unaware they still had a timeout left during the last 35 seconds of the game. That is coaching ineptitude at the highest levels. It is the responsibility of the coaching staff to get the team prepared to be able to execute during these kinds of moments.
Now the Bears will get the weekend to think about this latest debacle and then try to prepare for a 49ers team that is looking to get back on the right track.
The only hope for Bears fans is Matt Eberflus will not be accompanying the team when they travel to San Francisco next Sunday.
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