In an alternate universe, maybe Matt Eberflus would have spent Friday pondering his future. Or packing.
Instead, he met with the Bears’ defensive coaches on Friday afternoon, reviewing the team’s approach in the run and pass games, on third down, in the red zone and under two minutes. He then had a similar meeting with his offensive staffers. The goal: to come up with a plan for each player, and to hand it to them Monday after the Bears’ “mini-bye.”
“That’s how we’ll improve,” he said.
The self-scouting is how Eberflus needs to improve, too. He’s 1-4 this season and, at 4-18, still holds the Bears’ record for worst career mark by a head coach.
After Thursday’s 40-20 win, his team enters the weekend break with, for the first time in a long time, momentum. The Bears’ season has been disappointing, to be sure, but they have company — their next two opponents are a combined 1-6.
“We’ve got to make sure we make the corrections and improve our weaknesses and maintain strength where we’re strong,” Eberflus said.
For Eberflus to gain some traction, and a chance at job security beyond the end of this season, here are three things he needs to figure out during the break:
Making the pass game sustainable
Quarterback Justin Fields averaged 154.6 passing yards through his first 30 games. In his last two, he’s averaged almost exactly double: 308.5 yards. That’s a product of the defenses he’s faced — the Broncos give up the highest passer rating in the NFL, the Commanders the seventh-highest — but it’s also a sign of growth.
The Bears are gaining an identity, even if the pass plays look different from week to week.
“There’s been a lot of multiplicity to it, and I think it’s hard to defend,” Eberflus said. “And the looks have been different. The looks from last week were different than this week and then so forth, it’s gonna keep doing that. You’ve gotta make it look different even though you’re running the same types of concepts.”
Generating a pass rush
Getting safety Eddie Jackson and cornerbacks Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon healthy will help Eberflus’ defense. So will trying to improve a pass rush that had only two sacks before Thursday’s five-sack outburst.
As the Colts’ defensive coordinator, Eberflus rarely blitzed. His team finished in the bottom six in the NFL in blitz percentage all four years.
The last two weeks, Eberflus is trying new things. He blitzed on a season-high 28% of passing downs Thursday. The previous high came just five games earlier. Through the first three games, the Bears blitzed just 14.8% of the time.
“We just gotta play what coach calls,” slot cornerback Greg Stroman, who earned a sack on a blitz Thursday, said with a smile.
Staffing
Eberflus still plans to call the Bears’ defensive plays but said he’ll have conversations this weekend about whether to bring in a coach to help out on the defensive side of the ball. Coordinator Alan Williams resigned in Week 3 after inappropriate actions at work, and the Bears haven’t added anyone to fill the void.
“If it’s right for us and works for us, it’s great,” Eberflus said. “If it doesn’t, that’ll be what it is. … There’s nothing wrong with bringing someone in who can help, that has a different perspective.”
