Getty Head coach Matt Eberflus of the Chicago Bears.
Multiple defenders for the Chicago Bears aren’t happy about a Week 15 in-game decision made by head coach Matt Eberflus, according to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune.
With just 56 seconds remaining in the Bears’ game against the Cleveland Browns and the score tied 17-17, the Browns had a third-and-15 from their own 47-yard line. Eberflus dialed up a six-man blitz designed to force Cleveland quarterback Joe Flacco to get rid of the ball in a hurry.
Eberflus sent pass rushers Montez Sweat and DeMarcus Walker on the blitz, along with two members of the secondary, defensive tackle Gervon Dexter and linebacker Tremaine Edmunds. He also sent 6-foot-3, 310-pound DT Justin Jones into coverage. That turned out to be a fatal error, as it led to the game-winning field goal.
Flacco hit tight end David Njoku, who easily sneaked past Jones for a 34-yard gain to the Bears 19. Biggs wrote that both players and decision-makers at Halas Hall are scratching their heads about the choice to drop Jones into coverage. “Players throughout the locker room seemed peeved about the call in that situation, and I would imagine there are folks above Eberflus at Halas Hall who have wondered about it,” Biggs wrote in his December 18 column.
What Bears Players Are Saying About the Call by Matt Eberflus
Bears send a big blitz on third-and-15 and drop nose tackle Justin Jones into coverage. Flacco finds that matchup and gets the ball out to Njoku. Tyrique Stevenson can’t make the tackle at the sticks and the Browns get in position for a game-winning FG try.
“Frustrating ain’t even a word for this,” Jones told Biggs when asked about the play. “I ain’t gonna lie. But, I mean, that’s what was called. That’s what we played. I don’t know what to tell you. I guess you hope the pressure gets there before [Njoku] runs the route he does. But, I mean, I am just doing what the call was. I don’t even know.”
Biggs also shared the following exchange between Jones and DeMarcus Walker:
“At that point in the game, I am just following the call,” Jones said.
“It ain’t on him, though,” Walker snapped from the next locker space.
Walker’s response was telling, and it’s clear he’s not the only member of the team to feel frustration about the call.
When asked about the play, Bears All-Pro safety Eddie Jackson gave a sigh before saying: “Man, it’s Coach’s decision. As players, we just go out there and execute. Whether we like it or not, you’ve got to go execute.”
Starting cornerback Jaylon Johnson gave a candid assessment of the decision by Eberflus to use Jones in coverage instead of in the pass rush.
“I don’t want to say it was the pressure call,” Johnson said on 670 The Score’s “Parkins & Spiegel Show.” “I think it was just that type of pressure. For me, personally, I didn’t feel like we were that pressed have to pressure.”
“I feel like our front was doing a heckuva job all game pressuring. And I think we did a pretty good job covering. So I just felt like there were maybe some different options that could’ve worked better or been more simple for us. It’s easy to say in hindsight, but I feel like definitely in the moment, it was something that we could’ve had some different calls that could’ve given us a better chance to get off the field.”
Brad Biggs: That Play ‘Will Sting for a While’
Some interesting reactions/comments from players on that 3rd and 15 call for the Bears in Cleveland. Can tell there are frustrations.
The Bears defense has shown undeniable growth under Eberflus this season. Chicago’s defense had 10 sacks over its first nine games. It has 15 sacks its last five matchups. That largely has to do with the addition of Sweat, but Eberflus deserves a great deal of credit since he took over playcalling duties after the dismissal of ex-defensive coordinator Alan Williams earlier in the season.
Still, the unit’s inability to close out games is glaring, and it could ultimately cost the current Bears head coach his job.
“I don’t know that one call can doom a coach, but this will sting for a while,” Biggs wrote. “I can’t remember the last time players in the locker room were stunned by a late-game decision. Sure, if the pressure had gotten home, it would have worked, but this one blew up on the Bears.”
We’ll know soon enough whether it blows up in the face of Eberflus, as well.