Matt Eberflus made a unique decision before Thursday’s game
Thursday night football games present a challenge for each coaching staff who has to prepare for them. Many players and coaches don’t care for the stress of playing on Thursday night following a Sunday game. For Matt Eberflus, he was faced with getting the Chicago Bears ready for the Washington Commanders on a short week following a heartbreaking loss in Week 5.
Many NFL teams playing on Thursday choose not to practice on Wednesday. However, Eberflus had the Bears getting some reps in the day before they’d be playing the Commanders in a bid to get the team back to an even record.
According to Courtney Cronin with ESPN, Matt Eberflus thought the practice could give the Bears an upper hand on Thursday:
“I know not everybody does the practice right before but we thought it was an advantage for us to be able to do that, to play with some speed today and the guys did a nice job. They were moving around. Like I said earlier in the week, this is a simulated Friday for us so it’s more of a gold-zone, red-zone type of situation and move the ball there at the end.
Matt Eberflus on the decision to have a practice the day before TNF: "I know not everybody does the practice right before but we thought it was an advantage for us to be able to do that, to play with some speed today and the guys did a nice job. They were moving around. Like I
— Courtney Cronin (@CourtneyRCronin) October 12, 2022
"said earlier in the week, this is a simulated Friday for us so it’s more of a gold-zone, red-zone type of situation and move the ball there at the end."
— Courtney Cronin (@CourtneyRCronin) October 12, 2022
The Bears were able to get some reps from previously injured players
The move by Matt Eberflus could help the Bears team with situational football, which needs a lot of practice this season. The Bears’ extra practice on red zone opportunities in Week 5 helped the team convert touchdowns against the Vikings. The Bears also had a chance for wide receiver N’Keal Harry and cornerback Jaylon Johnson to get some reps before the game.
The two were listed as full participants on Wednesday. Johnson was projected as a full participant on the Bears’ injury report Tuesday; Harry was listed as a limited participant. Those were projections as the Bears conducted a walk-through Tuesday.
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