The Chicago Bears found yet another confounding way to lose a one-possession game in their 23-20 Thanksgiving Day loss to the Detroit Lions.
The Bears were driving in the final minute of the game and appeared positioned to have a shot at a game-tying field goal.
Instead, Chicago completely mismanaged the clock on the final two plays of regulation, denying Cairo Santos a chance to attempt the kick.
It all started on the penultimate play of the game, when Williams was sacked for a 6-yard loss to set up a third-and-26. The Bears had just one timeout and opted not to use it when Williams hit the ground with 32 seconds left in regulation.
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The Bears offense didn’t seem to understand that they needed to operate quickly after the sack. About 10 seconds ticked off the clock before Williams began frantically miming to his players to go quickly and get lined up for a passing play.
Chicago finally was able to line up for the third-and-26 pass. However, the ball wasn’t snapped until there were just seven seconds left in regulation. Williams took a downfield shot to Rome Odunze that fell harmlessly to the turf as time expired.
Below is a look at the full sequence:
Bears coach Matt Eberflus addressed the team’s endgame clock management during his postgame news conference. He detailed the team’s decision to save its final timeout even after Williams was sacked.
‘Our hope was, because it was third going into fourth, that we would re-rack that play at 18 seconds. Throw it in-bounds, get it into field-goal range and call timeout,’ Eberflus explained. ‘That was our decision-making progress on that.’
‘We were outside of field goal range, so we needed to get a few more yards in there, as close as we can get, and then we’re gonna call timeout,’ he added. ‘That’s why we held that last timeout.’
Eberflus’ explanation was logical, as using the timeout would have put the Bears in an awkward predicament while limiting their ability to use the middle of the field.
That said, Chicago’s lack of urgency after the decision not to call a timeout almost certainly cost it at least a chance at a game-tying field goal. And according to Eberflus, the offense should have been aware of the team’s plans.
‘We were all on the same page there,’ Eberflus said. ‘We just have to do it a little bit better.’
Eberflus was also asked whether he could have abandoned his plan and called the timeout around the 18-second mark to keep Chicago’s chances alive. In short, the third-year coach admitted that he could have, but it was a short window in which he had to make the decision.
‘Once it gets under 12 [seconds], you gotta hold onto it then,’ Eberflus said, noting a second play wouldn’t be possible if a player was tackled in bounds.
Either way, the Bears’ latest gaffe sealed their sixth straight loss and allowed the Lions to snap a seven-game losing streak on Thanksgiving. Despite this, Eberflus felt like Chicago had a strong showing.
‘We were there in the moment,’ Eberflus said. ‘We just have to handle it better.’