How Did the 4-7 Bears’ Absurd Thanksgiving Implosion Happen?
If you want to talk about a different kind of turkey for Thanksgiving than the one you ate yesterday, look no further than the Chicago Bears in their incredulous 23-20 loss to the Detroit Lions. In what can only be described as the worst clock management in football history, college or pro, it’s no wonder that Chicago has since axed head coach Matt Eberflus since the agonizing result. So what on earth happened?
The Bears Didn’t Start Super Well to Begin With
The Bears’ entire first-half drive saw them with three consecutive three-and-outs followed by two additional fourth-down turnovers. At least Detroit only managed one touchdown on the opposite side, as they had to rely on K Jake Bates for most of the damage in the first half. It’s not like this would’ve been an easy game for the Bears anyway, as heading into this contest, they had yet to win a single game on the road, accounting for six of their seven losses.
Chicago’s home record was better at 4-3, but Detroit’s home record was 4-1, while their road record was a perfect 6-0. The Bears were also 2-4 against their NFC brethren compared to Detroit’s 6-1. Lastly, Chicago was also riding a 5-game losing streak, while Detroit was looking for its 10th win in a row after losing its season opener. The Lions had a much stronger offense than Chicago as well, ranking 2nd in the NFL in total yardage, top of the league in points per game, 4th in total rushing yards, and 6th in total passing yards.
On the defensive side of the ball, Chicago ranked 17th in total yards allowed, 8th in points allowed per game, 20th in rushing yards allowed, and 13th in passing yards allowed.
It Was All Lions in the 1st Half
The opening drive for the Lions started at Detroit’s 30, and it took roughly 8 minutes of the quarter for the Lions to put the first points on the board, going 58 total yards when Jake Bates kicked a 30-yard FG from the Bears 12-yard line. After that, Chicago got the ball for the first time, but had a literal three and out, going only 5 yards to their own 35 before having to send it away. Detroit’s 2nd drive started from their own 10, and it took them exactly that many plays to go 90 yards in just over five and a half minutes before TE Sam LaPorta was in the end zone 5 seconds into the 2nd quarter.
The Bears’ 2nd drive also went virtually nowhere, and to make matters worse, they went backward 4 yards from the 30 to their own 26, no thanks in part to TE Cole Kmet being called for offensive pass interference. That ended up giving the Lions the ball back at their own 26, and they capped an 11-play drive that took once again under five and a half minutes, only for Bates to boot another FG to make it 13-0 Detroit. After yet another less-than-5-yard drive by Chicago, the Lions kicked another FG to make it 16-0 with about 3 minutes left in the first half.
The 2nd to last Chicago drive of the 1st half saw the Bears go barely further than 5 yards before inevitably turning it over on downs despite reaching their own 37, which was aggravated by a 10-yard holding penalty. The Lions’ next drive actually saw them fumble, which gave the Bears the ball back one last time, but they, as you might have expected, couldn’t capitalize on it, yet again turning the ball over.
The Bears Surged Back in the Second Half
Matt Eberflus must’ve given the Bears one heck of a pep talk because Chicago’s 1st drive of the second half saw them finally reach the end zone, with WR Keenan Allen cashing in on a 31-yard catch and run from QB Caleb Williams. It was a 9-play 74-yard drive that ate up just over 5 minutes off the 3rd quarter clock, and to say Detroit wasn’t fazed is an understatement. The Lions quickly restored the lead to 23-7 courtesy of Sam LaPorta, his 2nd TD of the day, capping an 11-play 78-yard drive.
The Bears fought back, though- another TD to Keenan Allen made it 23-13, and after the two teams traded punts on their next drives, the Bears found the end zone again, this time from DJ Moore on another long TD pass from Caleb Williams. All of a sudden, the Lions’ 16-0 lead was down to 23-20. Could this be a sign of weakness from one of the NFL’s top teams? Well, the key word there is could. As in, it could’ve been if the Bears hadn’t done the unthinkable in the final 30 seconds.
Chicago had one timeout remaining, down just a FG with 30 seconds left in regulation. All they needed to do was run one more solid first down-gaining play to possibly get into FG range, call a timeout, and set something up. But what happened instead was the most unbelievable thing to ever happen on an NFL field. For whatever reason, QB Caleb Williams purposely let the clock run down all the way to just 7 seconds remaining, giving him just one more play.
It wouldn’t have been such an issue if the Bears hadn’t been set at the Detroit 41, which they only got to because of a 29-yard accepted defensive pass interference penalty on 4th down and 14 followed soon after by a Bears hands to the face call. With just 6 seconds remaining, Williams threw a pointless downfield pass towards WR Rome Odunze which was deflected by a Lions defender and fell incomplete, ending the game and whatever chance the Bears had. They should’ve run one or two more plays to get into FG range- kicking from the Lions’ 41 would’ve been a 50+ attempt, well out of Cairo Santos’ range.
Now, because of poor play and horrendous clock management, Chicago sees their playoff chances dwindle even further as they fall to 4-8 in a game they absolutely could’ve won. Maybe. Or perhaps not.
Related: QB Caleb Williams Isn’t Happy With Bears Performance
