In what has become an all-too-common experience for Bears fans this season, head coach Matt Eberflus and his players found a way to wrest a loss from the brink of a win (or tie).
With 33 seconds left in the game, the Bears trailing by three points at Detroit's 41-yard line, and with one timeout remaining, the Bears managed to run just one play and never even attempted the game-clinching kick.
To analyze the disaster, we need to go back to the play before the last play. Bears QB Caleb Williams was sacked with 33 seconds left. The young QB stood up and appeared to be trying to get his team lined up for the next play with a bit of urgency. However, his offensive linemen and receivers appeared to be moving at normal speed and did not appear to be in much of a hurry to snap the ball.
And after Willians was finally ready to play, he appeared to be looking over the defense rather than clapping for the ball. At this point there was less than 15 seconds left. Bears head coach Matt Eberflus should have been clear to everyone that the team was taking too long and should have called a last-minute timeout to at least protect the play before the field goal, or simply 58 I had to try to score. Yard to tie it.
Instead, Eberflus did nothing. The pass Williams threw was incomplete and didn't hit the ground until the clock hit zero, and the Bears lost.
There are really no words to express the breathtaking lack of ability the Bears showed in this situation. Yes, Caleb Williams is a quarterback and should have known he needed to rush the snap or call a timeout in that situation.
But Williams is a rookie.
Eberflus was there to bail out the quarterback in that situation, but he failed miserably.
