Bears’ Matt Eberflus botches time management in insane 23-20 loss to Lions, sixth straight

DETROIT – The Bears lost their sixth straight game and suffered another tough defeat when they fell 23-20 to the Lions on Thursday at Ford Field.

After rallying from a 23-7 deficit in the fourth quarter, the Bears appeared to have at least a chance for a game-winning field goal in the final minute at the Lions’ 25-yard line. From there, however, they called a hands-to-the-face penalty, Caleb Williams took a sack, and they ran out of time even though there was still a timeout left.

Incredibly, Bears coach Matt Eberflus stuck with how he managed the clock.

“I think we handled it right,” he said.

The Bears have never fired a head coach during the season, but that’s not off the table for Eberflus. There’s also a realistic window for this to happen by Friday, as the Bears have an extended break before facing the 49ers on December 8th.

“This is the NFL; I know where it is,” Eberflus said of his job security. “I’m just going to do my best and keep grinding.”

When asked if he expected to stay on as coach for the next game, Eberflus said: “I’ll just keep striving and working. That’s what I do.”

Williams rebounded from a rough start to complete 20 of 39 passes for 256 yards and three touchdowns for a 97.8 passer rating after the Bears were held scoreless in the first half.

The ending was another debacle under coach Matt Eberflus’ watch, following recent losses to the Commanders, Packers and Vikings. Eberflus fell to 14-32 as Bears coach with the loss.

Defensively, the Bears held the Lions to seven points in the second half but were inconsistent and sloppy.

Lions quarterback Jared Goff was hot early, stopping 21 of 34 passes for 221 yards and a touchdown, a passer rating of 110.2. Former Bears running back David Montgomery led the Lions with 88 yards on 21 carries, and Jahmyr Gibbs added 87 yards on nine carries.

Here are the Bears’ inactives for the game:

OG Ryan Bates (concussion)
OL Kiran Amegadjie
WR Tyler Scott

EN Dominique Robinson
CB Ameer Speed
S Elijah Hicks (ankle)

Williams was hampered by his own team’s mistakes and the Bears lost 23-20 to the Lions in front of 64,275 fans at Ford Field.

From Patrick Finley

Eberflus entered Thursday’s game against the Lions with a record of 14-31 and many missteps on his record in three seasons.

From Jason Lieser

The Bears offense is getting going after two weeks of progress under new coordinator Thomas Brown, but faces a Lions defense that ranks second in points allowed. The Lions’ running back duo, Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery, will test the Bears’ run defense.

From Mark Potash