The Bears have wanted the ball the last four times they’ve won the pregame coin flip, including Sunday. It’s a change in strategy from the first two times they won, when they deferred.
Bears coach Matt Eberflus said Wednesday the team met with its analytics guru, Harrison Freid, months ago and decided “what’s best for our football team, based on the strength of the opponent in terms of their offense and defense.”
It’s more about the Bears, though — they’re killers early in games. They average 6.39 yards per play in the first quarter, the fourth-most in the NFL. They’re third with 8.4 yards per pass and seventh with 5.2 yards per rush. They rank seventh in touchdowns and fourth in first downs.
Eberflus won the toss and chose to take the ball just once last year.
Some coaches prefer to get the ball in the second-half to create a “double-dip” situation where teams can score before halftime and then get the ball back.
“There’s really no analytics to that, that suggest that you get a double-dip in that situation, taking the ball or deferring,” Eberflus said. “But you look at it and it’s still about execution.”
