The Chicago Bears cost themselves at least a chance at overtime on Sunday against the Detroit Lions with some abysmal clock management.
The Bears were trailing 23-20 in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game at Ford Field in Detroit, but appeared to be in very good position to at least force overtime. A pass interference call against Lions defensive back Kindle Vildor set the Bears up at the Detroit 25-yard line with 46 seconds to go and two timeouts in their back pocket.
What followed was one of the most disastrous sequences any team has put together all season. The Bears used their second timeout due to some confusion at the line following a first down incompletion, but still had the ball at the Lions’ 25-yard line with 43 seconds on the clock and one timeout to go. On the ensuing play, they fell victim to a self-inflicted error, as an illegal hands to the face penalty backed them up ten yards.
On 2nd and 20 from the Detroit 35, quarterback Caleb Williams took a sack, setting up a 3rd and 26 from the Lions’ 41. What followed was pure chaos. The Bears were woefully disorganized, and Williams did not get the team to the line of scrimmage until there were about 10 seconds left. He waited several more seconds for the snap, which finally came with six seconds left. Williams opted for a deep throw to Rome Odunze which fell incomplete after time expired, depriving the Bears of the chance to even try for a game-tying kick. All of it happened with the Bears still holding one more timeout in their back pocket.
Here's the full sequence for the end of Lions-Bears. I can't believe this happened…….. pic.twitter.com/dFMgDL2CE9
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) November 28, 2024
Much of the blame for the fiasco fell on coach Matt Eberflus, whose clock management was abysmal. The Bears presumably were reluctant to call timeout because they would be left with one play to get back in field goal range. After the sack, however, Eberflus needed to accept that the damage was done and use the timeout to try to set up a sideline play to at least try to recover a few yards for a field goal attempt. Instead, he simply let the clock wind down while Williams floundered to get the team to the line and run another play. The only other explanation is that Eberflus forgot he even had the timeout, but that would be very hard to believe.
CBS’ “NFL Today” crew obliterated Eberflus after the game. Matt Ryan said Eberflus’ mistake was “unacceptable,” while Nate Burleson said it was the kind of mistake that gets coaches fired.
"This is unacceptable from the head coach position. Your responsibility is to not panic in critical situations. To put your team in the best opportunity to win games. That's a massive, massive fail by Matt Eberflus" – CBS' Matt Ryan🔥 pic.twitter.com/z0TZ49IbkE
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) November 28, 2024
The Bears made a litany of errors, including two major penalties on the drive even before this. The team has found some brutal ways to lose this season, but this was probably the worst, as it was seemingly down to pure incompetence.
Eberflus is now 14-32 in two-plus seasons as Bears head coach, and this is not the first time his game management has raised questions. It is getting tough to imagine how he will keep his job after blunders like this.
