Only the Chicago Bears could take a beautiful day on the lakefront and turn it into a miserable setting. But you have to give them credit for upping their creativity with this one. The winless Bears welcomed the fellow-winless Denver Broncos to town in a matchup that decided who’s season was over and who’s just might be only mostly over. Chicago drew the short straw despite leading 28-7 and blew a lead of epic proportions to lose 31-28.
For about three quarters of the game, Chicago looked like a competent NFL team. Quarterback Justin Fields and the offense were unstoppable and gave fans a show they had not seen in years. Even the defense, which couldn’t stop a nosebleed, found ways to keep the Denver offense off the field. Everything was clicking, until late in the third quarter.
Buy Bears TicketsAfter going up 28-7, the Broncos offense found a spark and the Bears defense wasn’t quick enough to put out the flame. Quarterback Russell Wilson fired two touchdowns before the Denver defense got their first defensive touchdown in nearly two full years off a Fields fumble. The lead was gone and panic began setting in.
Head coach Matt Eberflus made one of the most questionable calls of his coaching tenure when he opted to burn a timeout and give his offense a shot at converting a fourth-and-short. It backfired, which led to the go-ahead field goal to seal the improbable Broncos victory.
This game had everything, good and bad. Even happenings off the field that may have impacted Sunday’s performances. Regardless, there was plenty to take away from the game.
1. Matt Eberflus will be fired soon enough
It’s incredible how we’ve gotten to this point so quickly. It seems like just yesterday that even suggesting Eberflus being fired was a drastic overreaction. Now, it’s reality given this historic loss. It’s always something with Eberflus and this week, it’s his inability to close games against even the worst opponents with the biggest of leads. What more do we need to see of this man to know he’s simply not cut out for this job? If not for a short turnaround facing the Washington Commanders on Thursday, there’s a good chance Eberflus would have been gone by Monday morning. Instead, there’s at least one more week of this song and dance and if we need to hear the phrase “we’re close” or “you just have to believe”, I’ll be close to believing Santa Clause could run this team better than him.
To put it simply, Eberflus and the Bears had this game in the bag. Up by three touchdowns, there was no reason the Broncos should have been allowed back into it. Even as poor as the defense was, they did their job well enough to keep Denver’s offense at bay. And then Eberflus began calling prevent coverages that allowed Wilson to carve up the secondary. He played it safe and the Broncos killed him for it. And the one time he didn’t was when he and the staff shot themselves in the foot (more on that in a minute). He’s arguably the worst coach in the league and somehow has made this team worse than last year. You knew that already from the first three games, but it’s reached a new level this week. Keeping him around would be to just ensure the No. 1 overall pick at this point.
2. The 4th down process and execution was flawed
Let’s discuss the fourth-down call heard around Chicagoland. The Bears and Fields recovered from the scoop and score and were driving down the field to take the lead once again. The four-minute offense was working effectively until they were faced with a fourth and short inside Denver’s red zone. With 2:57 on the clock, the Bears opted to send their offense on the field to get the first down. That’s a fine call. Going for the jugular and taking more time off the clock makes sense. But then Eberflus called a timeout after just trying to get the Broncos defense to jump and not calling a play. Again, it’s an acceptable call if you’re going to take the points and send the field goal unit out. But they didn’t.
They instead sent the offense back on the field to run a play after burning a timeout. And they decided to call a read option out of shotgun with one yard to go. It didn’t work, and the rest is history.
It’s the complete process that still has me baffled. If you’re confident in your decision to keep the offense on the field, why even try to get the defense to jump? Run right at them and don’t mess around. And if you’re going to run at them, why not try putting fullback Khari Blasingame on the field and running out of the I formation? He’s been effective in those situations. The Bears also burned a valuable timeout, something that could have been useful on that final drive if they still hadn’t converted. It was all a mess, and it’s one of the worst coaching decisions we have seen in a long time. That’s saying something.
3. Justin Fields was magnificent
This was the game Bears fans had longed for ever since Fields was drafted over two and a half years ago. After nearly 30 starts, the talented quarterback finally had a performance through the air that made everyone ecstatic. Fields went 28-of-35 for 335 yards, four touchdowns, one interception, and one fumble. His quarterback rating was 132.7, the highest rating a Bears player has had since Week 10 of the 2018 season, when Mitchell Trubisky was still around.
Fields’ final stats were (mostly) good, but he was unconscious during the first half thanks to improved timing, better accuracy, and a solid game plan from offensive coordinator Luke Getsy. Fields went 16-of-17 in the first half, missing just the final pass of the second quarter, which was a Hail Mary attempt. He took what the defense gave him and carved up the secondary at will, something no Bears quarterback has done in years. For three quarters, Fields looked like a transcendent quarterback. Even when players weren’t open, he used his elite athleticism to buy time and fire balls into tight windows to keep the chains moving. His reads were correct, he wasn’t late on many, if any, throws, and he looked confident in the pocket. That’s something we haven’t seen in a long time.
Yes, the Denver defense isn’t very good, and this type of performance could be an outlier. But if Fields can keep this spark from burning out, this team will be winning games soon enough with more of those performances. We do need to talk about his final quarter, however.
4. He still couldn't come through at the end, though
It’s unfortunate that we cannot fully celebrate Fields’ accomplishments on Sunday because of the result of the game, and like it or not, he played a role in that loss. Once the fourth quarter arrived, the Bears offense turned back into the orange pumpkin we know and love. Fields was left dead to rights on a blitz that resulted in the scoop and score by Denver’s defense. He didn’t want to take a sack in that situation and tried to throw the ball away to keep the positive field position, but only had a split second to react. It’s unfortunate, but understandable. The final drive, however, needed to be better.
Even though he was basically perfect for three quarters, this game fell on Fields’ shoulders, and he didn’t deliver. The quarterback had a costly intentional grounding penalty at midfield that pushed the offense back 11 yards and took 10 seconds off the clock. That was more egregious than the interception Fields threw one play later, which was still a bad play due to miscommunication between two players who should have had better chemistry. You have to be smarter in that situation to not put your team in a bad position.
There’s no question Fields took a much-needed step on Sunday, and whether it translates to the next few games remains to be seen. But at the same time, he continues to falter in the fourth quarter, and that’s not good enough when you’re judged by wins and losses. Going into this game via data from Stathead, Fields had a quarterback rating of 64.6 in the fourth quarter for his career with nine touchdowns and 13 interceptions while completing 58.4% of his passes. It’s easily the worst of any quarter for him. Fields still doesn’t have a fourth-quarter comeback victory at this point, and whether it’s his fault or not, that’s where games are won and lost. Is that unfair given the defense’s inability to keep the Broncos out of the end zone? Perhaps it is, but quarterbacks are judged differently. At some point, he needs to lead the team to victory.
5. The Chase Claypool was trade was a colossal failure
While the game was the primary focus on Sunday, the situation involving Chase Claypool could not be ignored and has come to a breaking point that neither side seems capable of coming back from. On Sunday morning, it was announced that Claypool would be made inactive for the game. Then it comes out (after unnecessary confusion) that Claypool was asked to stay home and will not be with the team moving forward.
It’s presumably the final nail in the coffin for Claypool’s Bears career, one that never really even took off despite the obvious need both parties had. It also cements the trade as one of the worst in recent Bears history, an honor that is difficult to achieve.
Claypool’s issues with not grasping the playbook and dealing with a poor attitude, while not great, could somewhat be excused. He was entering a new situation and learning the offense on the fly. But his attitude issues and lack of effort this year were unacceptable, and the Bears saw enough. Interestingly enough, Fields had his best performance without him, even though he publicly states his support for him and wishes he was on the field. He was, after all, the second-most targeted receiver coming into Sunday’s game. Claypool can express frustration with his role, but Field and the Bears forced him the ball. Regardless, this was Claypool’s final act as a Bear and he won’t be on the team for much longer. No matter what happens the rest of the way with Ryan Poles’ tenure, this trade will go down as one of, if not the worst, of his career.
6. DJ Moore and Darnell Mooney are receiving duo the Bears need
Without Claypool in the fold, wide receivers D.J. Moore and Darnell Mooney were the clear WR1 and WR2 options, respectively, during Sunday’s game. And they looked right at home. Moore, of course, was always the top option and feasted on a poor Broncos secondary with eight receptions for 131 yards and a touchdown on nine targets, but Mooney finally got going as well. He caught all four of his targets for 51 yards and was a key component in the first half, especially. These two worked well together and created a pecking order that made sense for Fields.
You can even throw Cole Kmet in there as well, who also had nine targets and two touchdowns. These three players were in sync, but without Claypool, the receiver’s pecking order makes sense, and Fields wasn’t forcing throws that weren’t there. It’s likely due to the bottom Denver defense, but this offense was efficient without Claypool on the field. Let’s see if that’s truly the case this week or if it was just a coincidence.
7. This week is do or die
Now that the Bears are 0-4, their season is effectively over. Only one team has made the postseason starting with four straight losses in NFL history, so now the question becomes can Eberflus somehow save his job? While it remains to be seen whether or not team president Kevin Warren makes a change during the season, a loss to the feisty Washington Commanders on a short week might seal the coach’s fate. The Bears could easily be 0-5 by Friday and with an extended break, they may look to make significant changes and have some extra time to put them in place.
For that reason, this week is do or die for this coaching staff. A victory obviously won’t save anyone’s job, but a defeat will all but ensure firings are made. If there is any fight left in this team, they’ll lay it all out on the line Thursday and do whatever it takes to get a win. The players are sick of losing, the coaches are out of answers. It’s likely do or die at this point.
