The Chicago Bears’ Thanksgiving Day game against the Detroit Lions ended in controversy, with head coach Matt Eberflus taking the heat. The most frustrating moment for Bears fans came on 3rd-and-26 when Eberflus chose not to use his final timeout. This decision cost his team a crucial opportunity to win on such an important day.
With 32 seconds remaining and the Bears facing 3rd-and-26 following a sack, Coach Eberflus chose not to call a timeout. He hoped for a quick play to gain some yards, but the clock kept running as the team changed the plan.
When they finally snapped the ball, they had to go for the end zone, but Rome Odunze missed the catch. The Bears’ decision backfired as they failed to execute a play in time, leading to a 23-20 loss.
"Your responsibility is to not panic in critical situations… That's a massive, massive fail by Matt Eberflus."@M_Ryan02 cannot believe the Bears' clock management at the end of their loss 😬 pic.twitter.com/aXwXoEc4Ju
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) November 28, 2024
Fans, analysts, and former players have criticized the decision, saying that Matt Eberflus’s poor clock management cost the Bears a win. Their current record stands at 4-8, and some are beginning to question the possibility of the team firing him.
Here are some fans’ reactions:
WTF IS MATT EBERFLUS DOING???
— Emmanuel Acho (@EmmanuelAcho) November 28, 2024
THAT IS MALPRACTICE!!!!
How do you single-handedly ruin the end of a game like that. That was the most idiotic, embarrassing, utter disgrace of clock management I’ve ever seen.
Bears fans should be SICK!!!
Matt Eberflus just made a Thanksgiving mistake he may never recover from. YOU CAN’T END THAT GAME WITH A TIMEOUT IN HAND. He’s coaching like he is on the hot seat, feeling the pressure and has been lost in the biggest moments all year. The Bears are repeating the cycle.
— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) November 28, 2024
Holy shit that clock management by the Bears was HORRIBLE 😭
— Freako Nico Enjoyer (@Royal_Insidious) November 28, 2024
Eberflus needs to be fired ASAP
I'm not even a Bears fan, and I'm absolutely FURIOUS at Matt Eberflus for his dogshit clock management.
— DaRealConMan (@0604Reynolds) November 28, 2024
If Chicago calls that timeout, they potentially TIE the game at the end of the 4th, and they have a chance to keep the Lions' Thanksgiving curse going.
FIRE MATT EBERFLUS. https://t.co/RoHN4NJorF
Matt Eberflus Defends his decision
In the press conference after the game, Matt Eberflus defended his decision. He said the plan was to run a passing play, get in field goal range, and then call a timeout.
He said, “You know, we’re at 36 seconds right there and our hope was, because it was third [down] going into fourth [down], that we would rerack that play at 18 seconds, throw it inbounds, get it in field goal range and then call a timeout.”
#Bears HC Matt Eberflus defended his decision not to use the timeout: “I like what we did there. … I think we handled it the right way. … Didn't work out the way we wanted it to.” pic.twitter.com/dod3i2rMTh https://t.co/BWdfdK1EVP
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) November 28, 2024
But the play didn’t go as planned, and the Bears couldn’t get ready in time. He explained, “To me it’s — I think we handled it the right way, I do believe that you just rerack the play, get it in bounds and call timeout, and that’s why we held it and didn’t work out the way we wanted it to.”
