Chicago Bears’ Latest Loss Could Be The Worst Of Them All

The Chicago Bears extended their franchise-long losing streak to 14 games with a loss to the Denver Broncos. This one might have been the worst one yet.

Now the Chicago Bears are inventing creative ways to lose games. On Sunday, they lost their 14th consecutive game, extending the longest losing streak in franchise history.

This loss might be the worst of the 14 games. They actually had a great start. Quarterback Justin Fields actually broke a franchise record by completing his first 16 passes of the first half. His only miss for the half was a Hail Mary thrown at the end of the half.

Late in the third quarter, the Bears found themselves with a 28-7 lead. All was good and it seemed like this losing streak was about to be in the past.

There was still a lot of time left, however, and that time was not kind to the Bears.

The Broncos scored two touchdowns and suddenly the game was a tight one. Chicago had a 28-21 lead. On the Bears’ drive, a Broncos defender got to Fields untouched. He forced a Fields fumble. Another Broncos defender scooped it up and took it to the end zone. The game was now tied.

On the next drive, the Bears were moving the ball. They did it mostly with some Khalil Herbert runs and short passes with a couple thrown downfield. The Bears found themselves at Denver’s 18 late in the game.

Chicago faced a fourth down but was half a yard away from a first down. They were in a similar situation on their first drive in the middle of the field but head coach Matt Eberflus decided to punt the ball.

This time, however, Eberflus decided to go for the win instead of a go-ahead field goal. If they converted the fourth down play they could have forced the Broncos to use their timeouts. Then, whether it was a field goal or touchdown, the Bears’ chances of winning would be a lot higher.

Eberflus went for the kill shot. However, the play called by offensive coordinator Luke Getsy called a horrible play. Instead of having Fields under center and push his way to the first down, he called a shot gun, yards behind the line of scrimmage.

Fields handed the ball over to Herbert but, just like everyone else in Soldier Field, the Broncos knew what was coming. They stuffed Herbert for no gain.

The Broncos took over and marched down for a go-ahead field goal.

The Bears had another shot with 1:46 left in the game. However, Fields and tight end Cole Kmet were not on the same page, and Fields’ pass was intercepted.

The safety had depth. I expected Cole to kind of go to his spot and sit down because of the safety’s depth. But Cole stuck to the rules. … So all in all, it’s my fault.

The game was over and the frustrations continued.

Bears took their foot off the gas

One of the criticisms of Getsy was how conservative his game plan was. In the first three games, he called an extraordinary number of passes behind the line of scrimmage. He did not call many plays downfield.

Additionally, he took away the runs that made Fields such a dynamic player. That changed early on Sunday.

There were many more rollouts and throws downfield. Heck, Getsy even called a flea flicker! Having Fields move around makes him such a dangerous quarterback. He sees the field better and is very accurate when he throws on the run.

We saw how much better Fields is when that happens. He completed pass after pass and he was throwing touchdowns.

For the game, Fields was 28/35 for 335 yards and 4 touchdown passes. It was the first 300-yard game of his career.

Fields included everyone. D.J. Moore, the best receiver on the roster, finally got more involved in the game. He had 8 catches for 131 yards and a touchdown. In addition, Kmet had 7 catches for 85 yards and 2 touchdown catches. Finally, Darnell Mooney had 4 catches for 51 yards.

However, once the Bears had the big lead, Getsy again went away from what succeeded. In the second half, Moore and Kmet each had just three catches. Mooney had one catch.

For some reason, Getsy went with Herbert more in the second half. No offense to Herbert, who had a pretty good game (122 all-purpose yards and a touchdown). However, why did the Bears go away with what got them a huge lead?

The Chicago Bears aren’t a good enough team for them to take it easy. If they are succeeding with something they need to keep doing it until the opponent stops it. They didn’t continue to press the gas and it cost them.

The coaching takes the heat

The fans are going to crucify Eberflus for his decisions on fourth down. They will also go after Getsy for his playcalling.

Eberflus going for it on fourth down late in the game is commendable. He was going for the killer play. If the Bears convert they win the game.

The play that was called was horrible, though. There is a half yard to go. Why run a shotgun and start the play yards behind the line of scrimmage? You have Fields, who is a big, tough quarterback. He can take a hit and keep going. Why not have him under center and have him and the line push forward? They could get the first down just with the new ball placement.

In these situations, Getsy gets too cute. On a number of occasions he used the direct snap to the tight end to try to convert. Now in this situation, they go to the shotgun.

Eberflus’ decision to punt on the first drive could be criticized. The Bears were 0-3. What damage could it cost if they go for it and convert? They were driving well up to that point. Ebeflus punted the ball instead.

Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson then took his offense 69 yards for a touchdown. Who knows if Eberflus goes for it and scores the outcome could be different. You might not win a game early but you could certainly lose it.

There will be questions about this coaching staff’s abilities. Those questions are valid, however. Too much has happened in the 21 games they’ve run. Now those questions are in the hands of general manager Ryan Poles and team chairman George McCaskey.

The McCaskeys have never fired a head coach mid-season. If they don’t do something, however, this could turn uglier and the players could tune out. If that happens, finding a win during the next 13 games could be difficult to find.