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Chicago Bears head coach Matt Eberflus has an explanation for the clock management at the end of the team’s 23-20 Thanksgiving Day loss to the Detroit Lions.
The Bears had an opportunity to tie or win the game in the final minute but blew through the final 34 seconds and only got a single incomplete pass-off. During his postgame press conference, Eberflus told reporters that the play was to snap the ball at 18 seconds, use a timeout and then kick a field goal.
He pointed to the team needing to work together more efficiently as the issue.
“I think we handled it the right way,” the Bears coach told reporters (2:30). “I do believe that we just re-rack the play, get it in bounds and call a timeout. That’s why we called it, it just didn’t work out the way we wanted it to.”
Around the 5:18 mark, Eberflus said the accountability starts with him and he has to be better.
The Bears were facing third-and-26 at the Lions’ 41-yard line with 34 seconds left following a Williams sack. They did have a timeout remaining but were hoping to get some additional yards to help kicker Cairo Santos’ chances at hitting the game-tying field goal.
Instead, though, Chicago lost a sixth consecutive game and fell to 4-8 on the season.
The end-of-game sequence baffled many on social media.
Williams finished 20-of-39 for 256 yards and three touchdowns, but the final play will likely overshadow any positive play from the day. It also was another knock against Eberflus, who has not done much to improve his job security heading into next season.
Chicago will hope the extra rest after the Thursday game can help them reset in time for Week 14 when they take on the San Francisco 49ers.
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