Thanksgiving Day football turned into a nightmare for Chicago Bears fans as former head coach Matt Eberflus’ late-game decision-making against the Detroit Lions left everyone in disbelief. The Bears, trailing 23-20 with time running out, found themselves in field goal range but let precious seconds tick away.
Ultimately, the game ended on an incomplete pass. For Bears fans and NFL pundits, the baffling sequence was a microcosm of the team’s season-long struggles.
J.J. Watt Can’t Believe What He Saw From Matt Eberflus
Former Houston Texans star J.J. Watt couldn’t help but let out his frustration on X, tweeting, “Man, I feel for you Bears fans. That was just brutal. Literal coaching malpractice.”
Man I feel for you Bears fans.
That was just brutal.Literal coaching malpractice.
— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) November 28, 2024
His reaction aligned with fans who have endured a 4-8 campaign filled with questionable calls. Eberflus’ mismanagement against the Lions, coupled with the head-scratching loss against the Washington Commanders, ended the Bears’ patience. Eberflus now becomes the first head coach in team history to be fired mid-season.
The #Bears fired Matt Eberflus, per sources. pic.twitter.com/NRlHDdDErL
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) November 29, 2024
The organization parted ways with Eberflus shortly after the 54-year-old said, “I’m confident I’ll be working on to San Francisco and getting ready for that game.”
The chaotic final minutes saw Chicago unable to capitalize on an impressive comeback. His tactics led the Bears to stumble when it mattered most. A hands-to-the-face penalty and a Caleb Williams sack set the Bears back.
Despite a timeout with 36 seconds remaining, Eberflus let the clock run down. Williams’ deep throw to a covered Rome Odunze fell incomplete as time expired, and that was it.
When pressed on his decision-making, Eberflus said, “I think we handled it the right way.” He explained that the goal was to save the final timeout for a potential game-tying field goal. “Our hope was because it was third going into fourth [down] that we would re-rack that play at 18 seconds, throw it in bounds, get into field-goal range and call a timeout.”
He also didn’t let down his guard when asked about not calling a timeout with only 10 seconds remaining. “We like the play that we had. We were hoping that [Williams] was going to call it — get the ball snapped. And then we would have called timeout right there.
“Once it’s under seven there, then you call timeout there, you’re basically throwing the ball to the end zone. Because once it’s under 12, you can’t throw it inside with no timeout,” Eberflus said.
Bears coach Matt Eberflus on disastrous final sequence in loss to Lions: 'I like what we did there' Bear down and fire him. Let’s go Chicago #dispicable #greenbay #packers https://t.co/VoPHMjx3J1
— Matt Boudreau (@1MattB) November 29, 2024
Interim offensive coordinator Thomas Brown will step in as interim head coach for the remainder of the season. Chicago’s hopes for a competitive season have long faded, and fans are calling for a complete overhaul to avoid a repeat of this disastrous campaign.