Matt Eberflus just can’t get out of his own way. It’s almost an art form at this point. It started with failing to call a timeout on the Hail Mary attempt in Washington. Then it was wasting 35 seconds not trying to get closer than 46 yards for a field goal against Green Bay, which was blocked. His defense allowed multiple 3rd and long conversions, including a big one in overtime against Minnesota. Yet all of those pale in comparison to Thanksgiving afternoon in Detroit, where he let the final 30 seconds of the game expire despite having a timeout left and the Bears being barely five yards outside field goal range
It was unlike anything people had ever seen before. You don’t see such egregious late-game mismanagement from an NFL head coach. Hell, you don’t even see them from most college coaches. People tried to determine what in the world happened. Hall of Fame head coach Bill Cowher summed it up in four terrible words.
“Matt Eberflus just froze.”
There is no other way around it. Caleb Williams had just taken a sack. There was 30 seconds left. The offense wasn’t organized. Any head coach with common sense would’ve known to call the timeout. It would’ve allowed time for two more plays. One would hopefully be a completion to get in field goal range and the other would be the field goal attempt to force overtime. Matt Eberflus let every last bit of that fly right over his head. His lack of situational awareness remains appalling. People can’t understand how the Bears continue to keep him employed despite overwhelming evidence against his competency. There can be no doubt the calls will be louder than ever for days to come after this. It was already ugly. Now it’s about to get worse.
