Chicago Bears Coaches Sabotaged Yet Another Winnable Game

Bad teams find a way to lose. In almost every metric, the Chicago Bears were the better team on Sunday in New Orleans. They outgained them in almost every offensive category. Unfortunately, Matt Eberflus and his staff continued their track record of coming up small in key moments. Despite the acquisition of Montez Sweat, the pass rush still didn’t show up enough. When talent can no longer be an excuse, the only explanation left is coaching. There were too many instances of Saints players being open on 3rd and long and in the red zone.

Then there was the decision to rotate Braxton Jones and Larry Borom at left tackle, which inevitably led to a strip-sack late in the game that iced it for the Saints.

Penalties were a constant problem again, something that Eberflus supposedly coaches mercilessly to cut out. Then there was Luke Getsy. The Bears offensive coordinator called a good first half, getting Tyson Bagent in rhythm and running the ball well. Everything fell apart in the 4th quarter. It started with a terrible screen call to Darrynton Evans on 3rd and 6 at the Bears’ 13-yard line, leading to a punt and a short field that allowed New Orleans to take the lead.

If that weren’t bad enough, he topped himself the next series when he inexplicably put Velus Jones into the game despite knowing the receiver is unreliable. Sure enough, on the first play of the next drive, Jones dropped a pass. On the next play, Bagent was intercepted.

The excuses have run out for this Chicago Bears staff.

Eberflus is now 5-21 as head coach. There is no excuse for that. Every phase of this team is underachieving. Perhaps what is most frustrating is that he’s 1-9 in games decided by a touchdown or less. That means whenever his team is in crunch time, they always fold under the pressure. All of that can’t be blamed on talent. Coaching goes a long way in explaining such problems. They turned it over three times in the 4th quarter. Well-coached teams don’t do that. It’s hard to say anything else at this point.

Eberflus and the Chicago Bears coaching staff have nothing to offer as positive with this team. Good players aren’t playing at their best. Few of their young players have shown tangible improvement. It feels like opposing staffs easily stay one step ahead of them each week. GM Ryan Poles might believe in Eberflus’ vision, but there’s a difference between having a vision and executing it. The man isn’t capable of elevating his players to perform in crucial moments.

The evidence is overwhelming. A change has to be made.