The Chicago Bears thought they had a 5-2 record squarely within their grasp up 15-12 with 12 seconds left in the fourth quarter. Two plays later, rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels would connect with wide receiver Noah Brown on a hail mary to give the Washington Commanders their sixth win of the season.
Bear cornerback Tyrique Stevenson faced heavy criticism for his actions before and during the Hail Mary, but head coach Matt Eberflus is facing heat for the answer he gave for the decision he made on the penultimate play of the game.
With the ball being snapped from the Washington 35-yard line, Eberflus had his defensive secondary defend the Chicago 30-yard line, allowing Daniels to hit Terry McLaurin on an out route for 13 yards. The gained yardage allowed the Commanders to get within range of the game-winning Hail Mary.
Per Chris Emma with 670 The Score, Eberflus defended the decision not to protect the sideline on the second-to-last play.
“It doesn’t really matter,” Eberflus said. “It’s always really going to come down to that last play.”
“The Bears lost the game because of coaching.”@danorlovsky7 on the Bears’ mistakes in the final sequence of the game vs. the Commanders pic.twitter.com/KikFs0sPcW
The hosts of ESPN’s “Get Up” ridiculed Eberflus for the decision and the third-year head coach’s answer after the game.
Mike Greenberg argued that the 13 yards given up to McLaurin cost the Bears the game as much as the successful Hail Mary on the next play.
“Let’s just be clear, that’s one of the dumbest things I’ve ever heard a human being say in my entire life in any context–it doesn’t even have to be sports,” Greenberg said. “If I own the team and I hear the coach say that after the game I have serious conversations amongst people about whether he is qualified to be the head coach of a National Football League team.”
Former NFL quarterback Dan Orlovsky agreed.
‘The Bears lost the game because of coaching and the way that they coached that final sequence,” Orlovsky said.
“The Bears lost the game because of coaching.”@danorlovsky7 on the Bears’ mistakes in the final sequence of the game vs. the Commanders pic.twitter.com/KikFs0sPcW
The final drive wasn’t the only questionable call the Bears coaching staff made on Sunday. Eberflus defended offensive coordinator Shane Waldron for giving the ball to offensive lineman Doug Kramer at the goal line which resulted in a lost fumble.
The final result at Northwest Stadium could cost the 4-3 Bears in the playoff race. The Bears have the eighth-best record in the NFC (with a tiebreaker over the Commanders) after Sunday’s loss.
