Chicago on Thanksgiving Day, adding another late-game mishap to a season chock full of disappointment.
Thursday's 23-20 loss to the Detroit Lions featured no miracle on the final play, however, rather a mismanagement of time with the game well within reach.
The Bears drove into Lions territory late in the fourth quarter down three points and seemingly in position to at least send the game into overtime, but calamity struck after Caleb Williams was sacked for a 6-yard loss on second-and-20 from the 35-yard line.
With a little over 30 seconds left on a ticking game clock, the Bears didn't use their final timeout and instead rushed to the line for their next play. The only problem was that play was snapped with about six seconds left, and Williams' incompletion downfield hit the ground just as the game clock expired, concluding a frantic sequence that brought plenty of questions for Bears head coach Matt Eberflus postgame.
"Our hope was, because it was third [down] going into fourth, that we would re-rack that play at 18 seconds, throw it inbounds, get into field goal range and then call the timeout," the Bears head coach said. "That's where it was and that was our decision-making process on that. Again, we were outside the field goal range, so we needed to get a few more yards in there, as close as we can get, and then we were going to call a timeout, and that's why we held that last timeout."
Added Eberflus: "I like what we did there. Again, once it's under 12 [seconds] there, you're going to call timeout there, you don't have an option. … To me, I think we handled it the right way. I do believe you re-rack the play, get it in-bounds and then call timeout. That's why we held it and it didn't work out the way we wanted it to."
Williams got the Bears lined up with about 13 seconds left, but the quarterback told reporters postgame that he made an adjustment on the the play just before that moment.
"I ended up changing the play," Williams explained, "because with the play we had, 13 seconds -- any play you have with 13 seconds with no time... Well, we had a timeout, but with that situation, 13 seconds, make a call and try and get it snapped and take a shot."
The final pass sailed toward Rome Odunze as he neared the 5-yard line, but it wasn't close to getting completed. Williams went on to explain what happened after taking the sack.
"In that situation we had a call, I got the call in, trying to get the guys back, focused on making sure everyone gets back, gets lined up," Williams said. "I know we don't have much time left, and so trying to get everybody back. I don't have a microphone to speak to coach or anything like that, so there wasn't like any huge communication in that situation. You get a call with that time, you got to try and get the guys back and get everyone lined up so you go run a play. We got lined up, got the play and then 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 or anything like that. So, I made an adjustment and knew Rome was either going to be one-on-one or he was going to beat the safety and be one-on-one there. Tried to give him a shot, we got the shot and missed."
It was a frustrating end to what would've been an impressive comeback for Eberflus' squad.
The Bears were outright dominated by the Lions in the first half, allowing Detroit to move the chains a total of 18 times before converting their first first down of the contest. That led to a 16-0 deficit entering halftime, but Chicago got back in the game by scoring three touchdowns on three of its first four possessions in the second half.
Williams was a major catalyst to Chicago's comeback attempt, accounting for all three of those TDs through the air, two of which coming in the fourth quarter. He finished 20-of-39 passing for 256 yards with three TDs and no interceptions, persevering through an afternoon where he was sacked five times and hit by Lions defenders on 10 occasions.
But it was all for naught in the end for the Bears due to a head-scratching sequence that will overshadow any positives.
"Well, I'm the head football coach, so I'm taking the blame, of course. That's what you do," Eberflus said. "We didn't get it done, it starts at the top and it starts right here. So, accountability is right here with me and again, we got to do it better and I got to do it better. I was proud of the way we fought."
The frustrating loss extended the Bears' losing streak to six games. The club has now started 4-8 or worse in four straight seasons (2021-24), the longest active season streak in the ߣÏÈÉúAV with four or fewer wins through the first 12 games of a season, per ߣÏÈÉúAV Research.
The Bears are on the road to face the San Francisco 49ers in Week 14.
