The Chicago Bears were a bastion of miscommunication late in their loss against the Washington Commanders in Week 8, including a message lost in translation between QB Caleb Williams and head coach Matt Eberflus just prior to the fateful Hail Mary disaster.
The seemingly frantic interaction between two of the most prominent figures in the organization — ahead of what was by far the biggest gaffe of the season — has been the subject of much discussion in recent days. On Wednesday, October 30, Courtney Cronin of ESPN cleared up any confusion around what Williams said to his coach, and it actually had nothing to do with the play that was about to happen on the field.
“For clarity’s sake since this was not addressed until today, when cameras caught Caleb Williams on the sideline motioning to someone, the quarterback said he was trying to tell Matt Eberflus, who was seen clearly on the field during the last 2 plays, to get back on the sideline,” Cronin wrote on her X account.
She included comments from the quarterback in her post.
“I was trying to get Coach Flus back on the sideline because I think the ref was going to throw a flag, because the refs were right there saying they were gonna throw a flag,” Williams said. “I just didn’t want to give them a free extra couple yards to be able to help their range and things like that, and then just kinda being a competitor out there, trying to help the guys.”
Tyrique Stevenson, Matt Eberflus Have Taken Heavy Criticism for Gaffe Against Commanders
GettyCornerback Tyrique Stevenson of the Chicago Bears.
Williams may have saved his coach from catching even more heat in the wake of the 52-yard completion that robbed Chicago of a win and dropped the team to 4-3.
That said, had the officials flagged Eberflus and stopped or reset the play in any way, perhaps cornerback Tyrique Stevenson might have snapped back into focus and been in position to help defend against the Hail Mary rather than spending the first several seconds of that snap engaged in a taunting interaction with Commanders fans.
Regardless, the game happened out as it happened out, and the Bears have been in damage control mode ever since.
Bears Face Toughest Schedule in NFL Over Final 10 Games
GettyChicago Bears head coach Matt Eberflus.
Chicago faces the most difficult schedule in the NFL down the stretch of its final 10 games, with all six of its NFC North Division contests remaining as well as matchups with the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers — both 4-4 and leading the NFC West Division in the win/loss column.
The Bears will take on the Arizona Cardinals in the desert this weekend before a showdown with the two-win New England Patriots in Week 10. After that, every game Chicago plays will be against a team with a record of .500 or better.
As such, it is important that the Bears move past the incredibly tough pill to swallow that was their defeat to the Commanders last Sunday. The franchise took a big step toward that initiative on Wednesday, when Eberflus told reporters that he’d had quality discussion with Stevenson about his mistake and that the organization is moving forward with its full support behind the second-year cornerback.
