The Chicago Bears pulled off what was easily one of the wildest and most inexplicable comebacks anybody will see this season. After a miserable first half in which all three phases made some critical mistakes, the team trailed 17-0 at one point before limping to the locker room 17-3. One could imagine a lot of frustration from guys knowing this was nothing like the team they felt they became down the stretch of last season. Head coach Matt Eberflus knew it, too. However, the Bears head coach didn’t need to worry.
Rather than lay into his guys about their effort and discipline, it turns out he didn’t need to say anything. The players themselves handled that. Eberflus revealed what exactly happened in the locker room during the intermission during his postgame speech. Unlike previous teams he coached for, where guys would throw blame around, Bears players looked at each other, insisting they were not out of this game. All they had to do was stand together and keep fighting, and they could climb their way back.
One lesson he learned about the NFL is the highs and lows. They are inevitable. The winning teams are the ones who can handle both. You can’t get too up or too down. It is always about one play at a time, one game at a time. Chicago came out firing in the second half. The special teams blocked a punt for a touchdown on Tennessee’s first drive. The defense then forced two more punts before strip-sacking Will Levis for a turnover. In the next series, Tyrique Stevenson stuck in the dagger with a pick-six.
Even the offense chipped in. While they didn’t have a great game, they did have two key drives that helped provide a field goal on one and killed three crucial minutes of clock on the other. Everything came together for the Bears to pull off the wildest win since that unforgettable comeback against Arizona in 2006. It wasn’t pretty, but this league has no reward for style points. Find a way to win. The Bears did that. Matt Eberflus deserves lots of credit for establishing the culture necessary to build such belief.
