The Bears played aggressive football for three and a half quarters, dominating the Lions on both sides of the ball. Defensively, they mixed up pressure, impacted Jared Goff and forced turnovers. On offense, they stretched the field horizontally and vertically for chunk gains and touchdowns. He helped build a 26-14 lead with just over four minutes left in the game.
But things changed for the Bears in the final four minutes. Instead of playing to win, the Bears appeared to be playing not to lose. The team’s penultimate attacking force received special scrutiny. The team got the ball with just under three minutes left in the game, led 26-21, and had a chance to end the game.
Matt Eberflus said his instructions and attack on Luke Ghezzi were simple.
“We need a first down,” Eberflus said.
Instead, the Bears went three-and-out and only gained one yard. They ran an inside handoff to Khalil Herbert, but there was no gain on the first down. Then an RPO handoff to Herbert for 1 yard. Justin Fields then hit a deep ball to Tyler Scott on 3rd and 9th base, but it turned out to be a harmless incompletion.
The Bears punted. The Lions marched down the field and scored the winning touchdown.
This lackluster series was the epitome of the Bears’ now unsurprising collapse. However, Eberflus defended the play after the game.
First, there was an explanation of the inside handoff for first down.
“We have taken that strategy very seriously,” Eberflus said. “Obviously, the corner cutback was where we wanted to be. I thought they blocked really well in that game.”
Makes sense. The run game has been the team’s strength for the past year and a half, so there’s no reason not to open with a run, especially if you want the Lions to take timeouts. Let’s also consider the opposite. If the Bears had taken the lead with an incomplete pass, fans would have been just as furious.
Then there was the second down RPO.
“(The Lions) played pretty much outside in that game, so we gave it up.”
Again, understandable. If the inside handoff didn’t work, why not put the ball in Fields’ hands? He’s been the best playmaker up until that point, so if he’s looking good, give him a chance to run the ball. As it turns out, the way the Lions played they read the handoff correctly. It didn’t go anywhere. Could the Bears adjust their play-action to allow Fields to get the ball no matter what? of course. But again, he has a chance to throw an incomplete pass and help the Lions.
Third down felt like the crux of the series. As Eberflus said, the team needed a first down. Getsy dialed up a crossing route to DJ Moore, but the Lions took Moore just as they had taken Fields one snap earlier.
“If the free safety comes down to take the crosser, which he did, we’re going to throw it over the top,” Eberflus said. “I thought (Fields) made a good read there, but I thought he just missed by one step. I thought it was a good ball, so I had to run under the catch.”
It’s a must-have third-down play, and it’s brave to have a go route as a second read to a rookie wide receiver. That matched the aggressive nature of his third quarter at first. But it was probably the wrong time to be aggressive. That’s the moment the Bears need nine yards, not a home run. If Getsy wanted to take a riskier swing, it probably would have made more sense on first or second down instead of third down. Playing aggressive early in the series gave the Bears the leeway to run wild a little to make up for missed shots on downs in the second half. By forcing him on third down, the Bears put themselves in an all-or-nothing scenario.
Eberflus said there was nothing wrong with the play calling after the game. And if Scott doesn’t slow down for even a second on a deep shot, he’s much more likely to reel in the catch. If he makes the play, the Bears have a much better chance of winning, and there will likely be far less scrutiny on the play-calling.
But Scott couldn’t make the catch, and the Bears didn’t win. So the question remains whether the Bears could have taken advantage of a golden opportunity to win the game had they pressed a few different buttons.
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