Bears coach Matt Eberflus stays the course and comes out a winner
A year ago at this time, Bears coach Matt Eberflus was under fire.
The Bears were 0-3 and had been outscored 106-47, quarterback Justin Fields was regressing, coordinator Luke Getsy’s offense was spinning its wheels and people still were wondering whatever happened to defensive coordinator Alan Williams.
And just when it looked as though Eberflus had righted the ship, with the Bears taking a 28-7 lead over coach Sean Payton and the Broncos in Week 4 at Soldier Field, he sank even lower, caught in the undertow of a dispiriting collapse. The Broncos scored 24 unanswered points, including a defensive score when Fields was strip-sacked, in a 31-28 loss. It would take weeks — and general manager Ryan Poles’ shrewd midseason acquisition of defensive end Montez Sweat — for Eberflus to come up for air.
Eberflus was set up to slip into a similar predicament Sunday against the Rams, coming off a bad loss to the Colts last week and with a precarious lead heading into the fourth quarter and coach Sean McVay on the other sideline.
Only this time, it was Eberflus who came out ahead and earned a measure of redemption by winning a game he had to win. And it came with a bonus: Beleaguered coordinator Shane Waldron’s offense contributed in a 24-18 victory.
After a challenging week of reflection, listening and communication, Eberflus’ team responded like well-coached teams are expected to do.
‘‘That’s what they’re gonna do; they’re gonna respond,’’ Eberflus said. ‘‘Every single week you have issues. We won the game, [but] you still have issues you need to work on. We’re gonna celebrate this win for 24 hours. We’re gonna look at the tape and pinpoint things we need to improve on. We do that every week. That’s how you get better as a football team.’’
This wasn’t quite a breakthrough performance against a short-handed Rams team missing standout wide receivers Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp and without retired All-Pro defensive tackle Aaron Donald. But it was still progress Eberflus badly needed. He pushed most of the right buttons a week after it looked as though he didn’t know the right button from the wrong one.
And his players made him look good. The Bears foiled a two-point conversion try by the Rams that would have tied the score at 17 early in the fourth quarter, forcing an incompletion with cornerback Tyrique Stevenson defending.
The Rams had two chances to take the lead in the final 6:25, but rookie Tory Taylor’s 66-yard punt pinned them at their 8 the first time, and the defense forced a three-and-out. Then safety Jaquan Brisker intercepted a pass by Matthew Stafford the second time to seal the victory.
It was a big victory for the Bears and a bigger one for Eberflus.
‘‘We all love him in here,’’ tight end Cole Kmet said in the Bears’ locker room. ‘‘He’s been outstanding. He’s done a good job of being a facilitator between us and Shane and the rest of the offensive staff. Obviously, he’s got to be on defense [as the play-caller], but he’s done a good job of implementing himself in the offense in terms of getting things right and sorted.’’
After enduring an even more tumultuous week than Eberflus, Waldron finally seemed to get some footing in the second half after a rough first half that had fans booing. On back-to-back possessions, the Bears drove 74 yards on 12 plays for a touchdown, then 70 yards on five plays for another touchdown and a 24-15 lead.
‘‘It’s just us being on the same page,’’ rookie quarterback Caleb Williams said, ‘‘and it started with the communication throughout the week, us talking about the flow of the game. And when we get into a rhythm, let it go.’’