For the second time in a month, Caleb Williams inconceivably put the Chicago Bears in a position to win in the final moments of a close game against the Green Bay Packers. And for the second time in a month (remember that disastrous Hail Mary defense?), Matt Eberflus seemingly did everything possible to throw it all away with horrific game management.
Let’s take it to the Bears’ fateful last possession, with Chicago down 20-19.
Williams broke contain after taking back-to-back sacks to set up a 3rd-and-19 and found Rome Odunze for a dart of 16-yard pass. Then, on fourth and short, Williams delivered a magical 21-yard back-shoulder pass to Odunze to keep the Bears’ hopes alive.
The biggest play of Caleb Williams’ and Rome Odunze’s career so far.
pic.twitter.com/0qiFJHBUNT— BOOG (@BoogCB) November 17, 2024
Please note the clock after Odunze catches the ball. There is 1:27 left. Even with the Bears in a good position for a potential game-winning field goal at the Packers’ 42-yard line, this would’ve not been the time to turtle for a rational team. Instead, Chicago officially ran just two more offensive plays after this sequence — a short 12-yard pass to Keenan Allen along with a Roschon Johnson run right up the middle to nowhere.
The key distinction here is what happened after Allen’s catch. When the Packers took a timeout with 35 seconds left, Chicago probably should’ve run a couple more real plays to get closer to a game-winning attempt for kicker Cairo Santos. The Bears even had a timeout in their back pocket in a worst-case scenario. Williams deserved to help his team more after being the one to put the Bears in position to win with his heroics in the first place.
Instead, Eberflus had the Bears completely turtle and settle for a 46-yard field goal. Now, listen, 46 yards for professional kickers is very doable. That is an attempt a professional kicker should make a majority of the time without breaking a sweat. But the thing is, the Bears could’ve gotten closer and had plenty of time to do so. The football gods do not smile upon that kind of conservative thinking.
Eberflus forced the Bears to stop playing, and he got what he deserved when Santos’ kick was blocked:
PACKERS BLOCK THE FIELD GOAL FOR THE WIN.#GBvsCHI pic.twitter.com/gq8zbz965C
— NFL (@NFL) November 17, 2024
The actual margin in talent between most NFL teams is minimal. If you look at the scoreboard every week, most games finish within one score for a reason. That’s what makes a coach’s game management paramount — especially in the clutch — because every strategic decision counts. They are often the literal difference between winning and losing.
That is now twice in a month where Eberflus has let the Bears and Caleb Williams down with a genuinely foolish end-game thought process right after Williams put his teammates on his back. It’s why the overmatched coach has to be fired at all costs — and sooner rather than later — for Williams’ talents to really flourish on a potentially great Bears team in the future.
