Chicago Bears head coach Matt Eberflus dropped to 14-31 overall with the team following Sunday’s 30-27 loss to the Minnesota Vikings at Soldier Field. There was hope at one point that at least Eberflus could go 14-30-1, but that was squashed when his defense took the field in overtime to play soft coverage.
The Bears have now lost five games in a row, including three straight at home. The Bears had plenty of opportunities to defeat their NFC North rival, but mistakes, especially by the coaching staff, continue to haunt the team.
More confusion for the Chicago Bears
Trailing 17-10 in the third quarter with the ball at the Minnesota 27-yard line, the Bears chose to go for it on a fourth-and-four. There appeared to be confusion before the play, as kicker Cairo Santos ran onto the field thinking he was about to try a field goal attempt. Rookie quarterback Caleb Williams appeared flustered by the uncertainty.
Williams appeared rushed to get the snap off, and his rhythm was affected in a play that resulted in an overthrown pass that bounced off Keenan Allen’s fingertips. (Allen ran a route short of the first down marker.)
Vikings ball.
Matt Eberflus takes responsibility for the botched play
Following the game, reporters asked Eberflus about the apparent confusion. The third-year head coach took responsibility for poor communication on the pay.
“We felt good about going for it there, we really did,” Eberflus said. “That was a green light for us. I gotta do a better job of communicating to the field goal team.”
Eberflus said Williams received the offensive play call late from offensive coordinator Thomas Brown.
“It’s just to the point where I have to do a better job of communicating everything to everybody, and if [Williams] was late then I might have been late, and then he was maybe late getting the call,” Eberflus said.
He said the Bears coaching staff was planning on third down to go for it on fourth and short, but Eberflus didn’t make that clearly known to his coaching staff.
“We were planning ahead it was important that they do that,” Eberflus said. “I gotta do a better job of communicating that. I wasn’t as clear as I usually am.”
How the Bears coaching staff were planning to go for it but didn’t know is beyond me. What it sounds like Eberflus is saying is that he didn’t tell his offensive coordinator or special teams coordinator what his plan was before the fourth down.
Eberflus had a similar blunder during the Bears’ Week 3 loss to the Indianapolis Colts. Eberflus put up one finger to signal for an extra point attempt before choosing to go for two. Amid the confusion, he burned a much-needed time out.
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