Chicago Bears coach Matt Eberflus addressed the clock management that saw his team run one play — despite having a timeout in hand — in the final 36 seconds of a Thanksgiving 23-20 loss to the Detroit Lions.
“We’re at 36 seconds right there (after the sack),” Eberflus told reporters after the game. “Our hope was that we’d re-rack that play at 18 seconds, throw it inbounds, get it into field goal range and then call the timeout. That’s where it was and that was our decision-making process on that.
“We were outside of field goal range and needed to get a few more yards in there as close as we can get and then we were going to call timeout and that’s why we held that last timeout at the end of the game. Disappointed for the players. They put a lot of work in on a short week and put themselves in position to win that game.”
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With 3:31 left in the fourth quarter and trailing by a field goal, Chicago got the ball back at its own 1-yard line and Caleb Williams drove the team to the Lions’ 25 before the drive stalled. Williams was sacked at the Lions’ 41-yard line with 36 seconds left. The Bears elected not to use their final timeout as time ticked off and Williams got the final play off with six seconds left — an incomplete pass down the field to Rome Odunze.
A wild end to this one. #CHIvsDET pic.twitter.com/zwR7g1Efv9
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Eberflus noted that with the team facing third down, he wanted to have the timeout to use for the kick on fourth down.
“It’s a situation where you get the play in, snap the ball, get it off and call timeout,” Eberflus said. “We were all on the same page there. We just got to do it a little bit better.”
Williams offered his perspective and explained why he made an adjustment at the line as time was ticking down.
“I don’t have a microphone to speak to coach or anything like that,” Williams said. “There wasn’t any huge communication. In that situation you get a call at that time, you got to try and get the guys back, get everyone lined up so you can go run a play.
“We got lined up, got the play and I made an adjustment because I saw the clock running down knowing that if we complete a ball inbounds or anything like that, we won’t have time to kick a field goal. I made an adjustment and knew Rome (Odunze) was either going to be one-on-one or he was going to beat the safety and be one-on-one there and try to give him a shot. We got the shot and missed.”
Tight end Cole Kmet added, “All of a sudden, I see everybody come on the field and the game’s over. So I was kind of like, ‘What the (expletive) had just happened?’ … I’m sure the thought process was then to be able to get some yardage and then take the timeout and then kick the field goal. But we were just a little too late on that. And then that ended up being the final play.”
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The loss to Detroit was the team’s sixth consecutive defeat of the season — a stretch that started with the “Hail Mary” defeat in Washington. The loss was also the third in a row in the NFC North — with the three divisional losses happening by a total of seven points.
“We got to find a way to win,” wide receiver DJ Moore said, who added he was not sure why a timeout wasn’t called. “We keep coming back in these games and we have time to actually win the game and we just s–t the bed.”
Eberflus, who is in his third season as the head coach, has a 14-32 record leading the team. Earlier this month, the team changed offensive coordinators to help spark a unit that had struggled for much of the season. That said, he knows the buck stops with him.
“I’m the head football coach, so I’m taking the blame of course,” Eberflus said of the defeat. “That’s what you do. We didn’t get it done. That starts at the top and it starts right here. Accountability is right here with me. We got to do it better. I got to do it better. I was proud of the guys and the way they fought. They did a good job putting themselves in position.”
When asked if he was worried that he might be let go following this loss, Eberflus said, “I’m just going to keep grinding and working. That’s what I do.”
— Adam Jahns contributed to this story
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(Photo: Mike Mulholland / Getty Images)
