Matt Eberflus had everything in front of him. The Chicago Bears were 3-2 going into the bye week, including three wins in a row. They’d just come from behind on the road to take the lead with seconds remaining in Washington. All they needed was not to allow a touchdown, and they’d be rolling towards a potential playoff berth. Everybody remembers what happened from there. Some inexplicable defensive calls by Eberflus, capped by allowing a free 13-yard completion on the second-to-last play, allowed Washington to execute a Hail Mary touchdown.
Chicago spiraled to 10 straight losses while the Commanders rode that momentum to the NFC championship game. People have wondered when Eberflus lost the locker room. Most point to that sequence against Washington. However, one NFL executive thinks it was actually after it. Losing that way is brutal. Yet some head coaches have survived such setbacks because of how they handled the aftermath. Dan Wiederer of the Chicago Tribune was told that Eberflus’s lack of reaction to it in the post-game press conference was the breaking point for Bears players.
His unwillingness to take or demand accountability would never change.
One league source who monitored the commotion from a distance quickly came to understand why players lost faith in Eberflus’ direction from that point forward.
“These dudes have their phones in their hands before they even get in the shower,” the source said. “So what you say (publicly) matters. And that’s not to say you always have to tell the full truth. But you don’t have to lie.
“Because you have to be fully honest about what everyone saw with their own eyes on Sunday. Please don’t try to convince me to not believe my lying eyes.”
Matt Eberflus clearly recognized his mistake, too.
He backtracked at his next press conference later that week by insisting he made mistakes in that game. It was too little, too late. Chicago came out lifeless in the next two games, getting blasted by New England and Arizona. A blocked field goal against Green Bay, an overtime loss to Minnesota, and the timeout fiasco in Detroit were the final killing blows after that. Matt Eberflus became the only head coach in Bears history to get fired midseason. Whatever you may feel about the guy, it was earned. So many things that went wrong for the team last season can be traced to his decisions, be it the poor game management, the tone-deaf press conferences, and the horrible offensive coordinator hires. He has nobody to blame but himself.
