Despite making an obvious blunder in a pivotal moment during the Bears' Week 8 loss to the Commanders, OC Shane Waldron is doubling down.
As bad as the Chicago Bears’ last second Week 8 loss to the Washington Commanders was, the aftermath of the embarrassing defeat has been worse. After Jayden Daniels connected on a walk-off Hail Mary touchdown as time expired, players and analysts alike have lined up to drag Matt Eberflus. And Chicago’s head coach has made himself an easy target with baffling comments.
Eberflus defended offensive coordinator Shane Waldron’s highly questionable decision to give offensive lineman Doug Kramer his first-ever NFL carry on a pivotal third-and-goal situation from Washington's one-yard line with a little over six minutes remaining in the fourth quarter and the Bears losing 12-7. The play ended in disaster.
Nonetheless, instead of letting a regrettable decision fade from the public’s memory, Waldron opted to double down on his mistake. “Felt confident in that moment in the call, but it didn’t work out,” Chicago’s first-year OC told reporters on Thursday, per WGNTV’s Kaitlin Sharkey on X. Waldron noted that the handoff wasn’t clean but ultimately, he does not regret making that objectively bad play call.
The Bears' OC got ultra cute with the ball at the Commanders’ one-yard line. With Kramer in the fullback position and Roschon Johnson at tailback, rookie quarterback Caleb Williams attempted a quick handoff to the up-back to try to catch Washington off guard. Kramer promptly lost the ball and the Commanders recovered.
Bears OC Shane Waldron refuses to move on from Week 8 blunder
To be fair, Kramer never actually had the ball as it popped out during the handoff, so Williams was officially charged with the fumble. But the 300-pound offensive lineman has literally no in-game experience carrying the ball, so the botched exchange is likely on him. Or, more accurately, it’s on Waldron for putting him in that position.
Yes, the Bears coaching staff made sure to tell reporters that the team had practiced using Kramer as the ball carrier in short yardage situations. But trailing late in the fourth quarter on the road was not the ideal time to try it out in a game.
This is especially true when you consider the Bears had D’Andre Swift, Johnson and Williams at their disposal. Swift ran all over the Commanders in Week 8, turning 18 carries into 129 yards and a touchdown. Williams added 47 yards on the ground on nine rush attempts and Johnson is a bruising, 225-pound RB who’s produced four rushing scores this season on just 32 carries.
On the Bears’ next drive they once again found themselves at the Commanders’ one-yard line. That time, however, they wisely gave Johnson the ball and he delivered the go-ahead touchdown.
Despite holding a three-point lead with less than 30 seconds remaining, the Bears managed to lose. Daniels found wideout Terry McLaurin on the sideline for a chunk gain that put the team in position to attempt a Hail Mary from midfield while also stopping the clock. Following the heartbreaking defeat, Eberflus went on record saying that play didn’t matter.
The Bears’ third-year coach committed multiple fireable offenses during the Week 8 disaster. Chicago is now 4-3 and in last place in a highly competitive division. Somehow the team will look to rebound against the 4-4 Arizona Cardinals on Sunday.
