Less than 24 hours after a memorably embarrassing loss in front of a national audience, Bears’ head coach Matt Eberflus has been fired on Friday as the calls for his job reached a fever pitch. Chicago lost their sixth consecutive game in a row, including their third consecutive game by three points or less when they lost 23-20 to the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving. Had it not been Eberflus’ time management blunder, there is a very good chance the opposite occurred for the former head coach, as he had the ultimate shot to revive and save his coaching tenure with the Bears and blew it.
Matt Eberflus would have had so many credible moments to tout had the Bears beat the Lions
Heading into Thursday’s game, media and fans were under the impression that Eberflus would be fired after the contest in Detroit if his team lost in a blowout to the best in the NFL. At the end of the first half, it appeared to be heading that way as the Lions led the Bears by a 16-0 score, as Chicago’s offense had done virtually nothing at all and the defense failed to contain their opponent’s offense. It felt that the second half of the game was a foregone conclusion and that Matt Eberflus’ tenure as a head coach would end with a +20-point loss.
However, what transpired for most of the second half with the Bears’, especially on offense, would have likely saved Eberflus’ job for the remainder of the season, if not given him evidence as to why he should be retained for the 2025 season. Down 16-0, the Bears’ offense scored on their first offensive drive of the second half and rallied to put up 20 second half points against one of the best defensive units in the league. On the other side of the ball, Matt Eberflus’ defense contained the Lions offense to just one score in the second half, a score that came on scoring drive that was extended by a controversial defensive penalty.
Rookie Quarterback Caleb Williams was on verge of leading a memorable comeback on the road against the league’s best team, who had also won nine games in a row. Had the Bears’ won, they would have snapped their losing streak in an improbable way, and had their head coach and quarterback receive praise for play and in-game adjustments leading to come from behind win. Eberflus would have been commended for overseeing a defensive performance that would have limited the Lions offense to their lowest offensive point since Week 3.
It would have also led to legitimate questions for the potential head coaching candidate that fans and the media believe should be the replacement to Matt Eberflus, as Lions’ offensive coordinator Ben Johnson was limited in the second half. Johnson oversaw a Lions’ offense that went away from the run after racking up over 100 rushing yards midway through the first half, as Chicago’s defense held Detroit’s offense to several three and outs in the second half. Additionally, It would mark another occasion where Eberflus outcoached Lions’ head coach Dan Cambell, who is the favorite to win NFL Coach of the Year this season because of how dominant his team has been over their opponents.
A come-from-behind victory against the Lions would have also given Matt Eberflus’ team significant momentum heading into December, as their playoff hopes would have been kept alive. The Bears’ have ten days until their next game on the road against the San Francisco 49ers, who are traveling cross-country to play the Buffalo Bills on Sunday Night Football in near blizzard conditions. Any delay in getting back would hamper the 49ers’ ability to prepare for their game against Chicago, and Eberflus’ team would be motivated pulling off a near-historic upset against the best team in the NFL.
Matt Eberflus etched his name in the negative Thanksgiving Football history memories with his gaff
Unfortunately, Matt Eberflus squandered any potential redemption he would have generated with an unprobeable come-from-behind win when he failed to use a timeout and let more than 30 seconds come off the clock for his team. The gaff was amplified because it wasn’t just a nationally televised game, but annual Thanksgiving Day game, which is the most watch game outside of the Super Bowl because of the amount of casual observers watching. Eberflus will now join the group of players and coaches who’s blunders and errors are remembered because it happened on the holiday when everyone across the country was watching.
Eberflus’ time management blunder will go down in NFL Thanksgiving Day history as just of an embarrassing moment as Leon Lett’s mistake in 1993. Back in 1993 during the Cowboy’s Thanksgiving game against the Miami Dolphins, Lett tried to recover a blocked game-winning field goal kick by Dallas as time expired. The fumble allowed the Dolphins to recover and attempt another game-winning field goal, which was good as time expired giving Miami a 16-14 miracle victory. The Cowboys’ game was remembered because the contest was played in snow, but the Detroit game on Thursday will be remembered because of Matt Eberflus’ gigantic coaching mistake.
The mistake now makes Eberflus a national punchline for the next week or two, as the gaff because it happened in front of an enhanced national audience, will be mocked in areas outside of the sports realm. Throughout the six-game losing streak, Matt Eberflus’ players haven’t quit on him and if the Bears would have won, it would have resulted in national recognition that the players were still fighting for their embattled head coach. It would have also allowed for defenders of the head coach to state their reasons, with credible evidence, as to why he should be kept.
The decision to fire Eberflus became a question of how soon on Friday he would be fired instead of whether before or after the end of the season. Chicago’s head coach had a chance to flip the script on his job security with a come-from-behind victory on Thursday and lost it all due to his own undoing. Matt Eberflus is now out of a job and will be seen as a joke nationally, but he brought it upon himself by not executing better clock management on the most significant stage while playing on Thanksgiving.
