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The Chicago Bears have not had the kind of season they were hoping for after scooping up Caleb Williams, and much of the blame has naturally fallen on the shoulders of Matt Eberflus. The coach’s decision-making has repeatedly been called into question, and that’s once again the case thanks to how he explained the latest in a string of ill-fated challenge flags.
It seemed like the Chicago Bears were heading in the right direction after starting the season at 4-2, but that’s no longer the case now that the team has extended its current losing streak to five games with a 30-27 overtime loss to the Vikings on Sunday.
Bears coach Matt Eberflus found himself under fire over special teams issues that reared their ugly head when a pivotal field goal was blocked for the second week in a row, and he once again fell victim to the decision to challenge a play that ultimately stood.
The challenge in question involved the 69-yard reception Jordan Addison hauled in to open up the second half, which saw him briefly tightrope down the sideline en route to being tackled less than ten yards from the end zone.
The play stood (thanks in part to a strange rule that barred officials from using the boundary cam that appeared to show Addison had stayed inbounds) and the timeout the Bears lost as a result likely influenced the decision to avoid burning another one when a miscommunication between Eberflus and Caleb Williams that resulted in a turnover on downs on the ensuing drive.
While I can’t necessarily blame Eberflus for challenging the play given how close it looked at first glance, the Bears are now 0-4 when they’ve thrown the red flag this season and probably would have lost it regardless if the boundary cam was allowed to be taken into consideration on coach-initiated reviews.
Eberflus also committed a bit of an unforced error when he got the chance to explain his decision to go that route while speaking with the media on Monday, as his breakdown would strongly suggest the man who’s currently perched on a hot seat that’s getting warmer with every week doesn’t really have his priorities in order as far as game management is concerned.
“When that’s an explosive (play) … we want to throw that (challenge) flag.”
Matt Eberflus on challenging the 69-yard Jordan Addison play. pic.twitter.com/73ULLQdHKm
— Marquee Bears (@BearsMarquee) November 25, 2024
Here’s what he had to say:
“I threw the challenge flag because it was an explosive. It’s 69 yards…
When it’s an explosive there, we want to throw that flag…I think it always warrants a challenge when you’ve got that big of a gain. If it was six yards I don’t really care, if it was 15 yards, I don’t care. But if it’s 70 yards, it’s worth it—even if we don’t have the best look there.”
While I can again understand where Eberflus is coming from, he also could have very easily gone with an answer that didn’t involve admitting he wasn’t sure how the chips were going to fall when he decided to gamble with a timeout at stake—especially when he’s had a very lackluster track record on the challenge front this year.
The timeout didn’t end up being an incredibly crucial factor in the grand scheme of things (although it probably would have come in handy on the last-gasp drive that saw the Bears force overtime with a field goal after recovering an onside kick), but if Eberflus is trying to regain the confidence of fans, he’s not doing a great job.