Bears' Matt Eberflus defends decision to kick 46-yard FG
Bears coach Matt Eberflus joined some unexceptional company Sunday when he decided to settle for a 46-yard field goal, only to have it blocked, in the final seconds of a 20-19 loss to the rival Packers.
In 2013, then-coach Marc Trestman decided to kick on second-and-seven in overtime in Minnesota, only for Robbie Gould, who stayed up all night for the birth of his child, to push a 47-yard potential game-winner in a game the Bears eventually lost. The comparisons don’t end there for Eberflus, a sound strategic mind who, like Trestman, has struggled to learn the nuances of being a head coach. Trestman was gone after two years. Eberflus, barring a dramatic turnaround, figures to be gone after three.
With 35 seconds to play and the ball at the 30 Sunday, the Bears handed off to running back Roschon Johnson for two yards. Rather than do it again, Eberflus let the clock run down to 3 seconds before taking a timeout and sending kicker Cairo Santos on the field. His 46-yard kick was blocked by Packers defensive lineman Karl Brooks.
Given the opponent and the location, it was every bit as painful as the Hail Mary that started the Bears’ skid — except, perhaps, that everyone by now already knows who the Bears are. Gone is any illusion of playoff promise. The Bears are 4-6 with the NFL’s most difficult schedule remaining.
Eberflus put the ball where Santos wanted it and was pleased there was little wind. He said he didn’t want to risk losing yards or fumbling when he ran the clock down. Some players disagreed — “Yes, but we did what we did,” receiver DJ Moore said — but Eberflus’ confidence in Santos was well-founded. Throw out a blocked 43-yard kick in London with tight end Cole Kmet snapping the ball and the Bears holding a 19-point lead, and Santos last miss of 48 yards or less came in New Orleans on Nov. 5, 2023, when he hit the upright on a 40-yard try.
“I felt very confident where we were at that time with the wind and where we were on the field,” Eberflus said.
The Bears, of course, wouldn’t have been in that situation if Eberflus’ defense hadn’t responded to the most important possession since the Commanders’ Hail Mary by allowing the Packers to slice through them on a four-play, 78-yard scoring drive on the possession prior. Circumstances might have been different, too, had Eberflus not burned a timeout trying to challenge Christian Watson’s 60-yard catch-and-run on that drive and had he not tried, and failed, to go for a two-point conversion at the end of the third quarter.
The Bears went ahead 19-14 with 39 seconds left in the third quarter. The Bears’ conversion chart says to go for it to chase a seven-point lead in the fourth quarter. Their coaches figured being 39 seconds away from the fourth quarter was close enough.
Agonizing over seemingly small details shows just how little margin for error the Bears have, be it against the Packers or anyone else. That falls on a head coach who has lost the benefit of the doubt. When the Broncos had their potential game-winning 35-yard field goal blocked by the Chiefs last week, it was easy to chalk it up to bad luck for coach Sean Payton. He’s won 166 career games and one Super Bowl. Eberflus has won 14 games.
Cornerback Jaylon Johnson called the second heart-breaking loss in the past month “almost comical” and a “luck of the draw at this damn point.”
Good teams, though, make their own luck. The Bears haven’t, and it’s fair to wonder if they will at all this season.
“I think [Eberflus] understands the gravity of the situation, it being a tough time,” receiver Rome Odunze said of Eberflus. “Four straight Ls. That hurts.”