This could have been the defining victory of the Matt Eberflus era, a testament to red zone defense and giving everything you have for four quarters and never giving up. It could have been like that and it almost was. So it wasn’t like that.

This could have been the surest sign of growth that fans of the chicago bears I have seen this year. The team’s first road win and another double-digit comeback, stealing victory from the jaws of defeat like they did against the Tennessee Titans in Week 1, only this time against a 5-2 playoff contender. So it wasn’t like that.

This game could have been a lot of things for the Bears, but the one thing everyone will remember is the final play of the game, a desperate drive by Jayden Daniels that turned into what was somehow Noah’s biggest and easiest catch. Brown’s life.

The Bears have a lot to reflect on themselves today. That goes for everyone, from the coaching staff to the players, and probably us as fans too, for living and dying with every play and going from frustration to despair to hope to elation to fear to… well, you know. Sundays are supposed to be relaxing, right?

What hurts the most about this loss is the self-inflicted nature of it all. Matt Eberflus’ defense was nothing short of heroic in keeping Jayden Daniels and the Commanders out of the end zone for the first 60 minutes of the game, but after doing so many things right, Eberflus and the D did a lot of things wrong when most it mattered. My seven-year-old daughter asked me as the last ball was in the air, “Dad, isn’t the game over? The clock says zero.” Sorry honey, unfortunately, things don’t work that way.

There are a lot of interesting takes that could be had immediately after a loss like that, but I’m glad I got a night’s sleep before trying to communicate them here. Otherwise, this could have read like an Edgar Allen Poe novel, and while it’s a spooky season, no one wants that, even if the game played out like a gothic horror for Bears fans.

This isn’t the kind of loss a team can just shake off and move on, and it’s certainly not a loss fans will forget anytime soon. Here are three overreactions from a Bears fan who isn’t feeling much better on Monday morning.

There are a lot of people who deserve blame for the way this game played out. The offensive line returned to its dismal Week 1-3 form, giving Caleb Williams no time against Dan Quinn’s defensive pressure all game. Caleb himself, although he showed a lot of courage and heart in getting off the mat in the fourth quarter, was extremely shaky during the first three. Shane Waldron, who seemed to be gaining the trust of Bears fans after consecutive 35-point games, destroyed all that good will in a Doug Kramer-shaped mushroom cloud with an incomprehensibly bad play at the line. goal.

However, more than anyone, this loss depends on Matt Eberflus. Even if the defense does everything wrong, as the Bears defense clearly did, a 52-yard Hail Mary still has a slim chance of success, but Eberflus’ game management and decision making put the Commanders in a position to steal a game that should have ended.

I’ll forgive Eberflus for missing a challenge that would have negated a third-down conversion from Daniels to Terry McLaurin in the fourth quarter because he’s relying on someone up top to give him good information and there simply wasn’t enough time to make an informed decision, critical as that would have been. .

What I can’t forgive is everything that happened in the last two plays of the game. With the Commanders at their own 35-yard line and no timeouts with six seconds left, Eberflus ran what appeared to be his Hail Mary defense, allowing Daniels to hit McLaurin for 13 easy yards on the sideline.

That play will be forgotten by most because of what happened next, but if Eberflus hadn’t given up those yards, Washington never would have come close with a Hail Mary on the final play. There’s no reason not to have the sidelines bracketed like they were at the end of the first half, which would have forced Daniels to throw it, throw it 10 or 15 yards short of the end zone, or run the old Cal-Stanford. play to travel the length of the field. In any scenario, it’s hard to see how the defense could screw that up.

Even after letting the Commanders get closer to midfield, the Bears still had the lead, but Eberflus botched the final play at every turn. First, he didn’t use a timeout to make sure everyone knew their assignments on the final play. The way things played out, a refresher seems like it might have been helpful.

Second, he only rushed three, and had TJ Edwards spying on Jayden Daniels. This is some Hail Mary 101, and we saw the Lions execute it perfectly in their win over the Vikings last week. Sam Darnold dropped back to set up a last-second Hail Mary, but before he could even get to his feet he was eaten by a game-ending sack because Detroit was really putting the pressure on.

We’re not asking for an overload, just five runners so Daniels can’t buy time and allow his receivers to set up in the end zone. And as for Edwards, was Eberflus really worried that Daniels might run for a touchdown? What purpose did it serve in this work? The Bears didn’t even have Darrell Taylor or Austin Booker, two of their best pass rushers, on the field, which is why Daniels had all day there.

Eberflus went over the fact that the Bears play the Hail Mary defense all the time in his postgame press conference. He even detailed how they were taught to defend it, however, when it came time to execute, the Bears’ secondary went to the ball, leaving Noah Brown alone in the end zone. Reminder, the Bears finished the game with all three timeouts under their belt.

Eberflus has built the Bears’ culture, but that’s only part of what makes a good head coach. You need to execute and make good decisions on the field, and Eberflus has not been able to do that with consistency. This isn’t the first terrible loss the Bears have had under his direction.

Another part of being a good head coach is learning from your mistakes and admitting when you’re wrong. Eberflus has doubled down on his belief that the 13-yard play to McLaurin “didn’t matter,” which tells me he’s just not going to get any better at this.

Some Bears fans are complaining today that referees missed multiple holding calls on the final play. Like it or not, that doesn’t get called in that situation, just like the defense can get away with pass interference. The Bears didn’t lose because of that. Eberflus is.

The roster has improved a lot since Eberflus first took over, which is why the Bears have a winning record. Will Eberflus be the coach who will take this team to the promised land? All evidence points to no.

One way Eberflus can try to regain some credibility is to hold cornerback Tyrique Stevenson accountable. Stevenson is the Bears’ No. 2 cornerback behind Jaylon Johnson, and is arguably one of the team’s most important players as opposing quarterbacks are unwilling to throw in Johnson’s direction.

This is just Stevenson’s second year in the league and I’ve been a big fan of his since the Bears drafted him. However, there is no other way to cut it. Sunday’s performance was a disgrace..

Stevenson was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct late in the third quarter after hitting a Commanders lineman in the eye after the play, and spent the entire game talking to McLaurin, who seemed to delight in teaching the youngster a thing or two along the way. . to five receptions and 125 yards.

Stevenson has a history of this type of thing, as he got into it with Texans receiver Nico Collins in Week 2. Stevenson was lucky the referees called Collins on that play, but he got his revenge one play later when he torched the Bears for a touchdown.

On the Hail Mary that ended the game, Stevenson wasn’t even looking at the snap because he was taunting the Washington fans. He didn’t turn around and realize the play was happening until the Commanders’ receivers reached the 25-yard line, and then, after fighting his way into the play, he was the one who put a hand on the ball and handed it to him. passed to Noah. Brown.

I watch all the football I can and I don’t remember any player who has had a worse sequence than this all year. You would have to go back a long time to find something as shameful and selfish as this. I’m talking about Desean Jackson dropping the ball near the goal line, Myles Garrett swinging a helmet at Mason Rudolph, Kyle Turley ripping off his opponent’s helmet and throwing it 30 yards.

stevenson issued an apology on , improvement will happen.” #Beardown”

I appreciate Stevenson acknowledging his mistake afterwards, but when you cost the team the game with your lack of professionalism, there has to be more than an apology after the game. Eberflus should sit him out for next week’s game against the Cardinals, Kyler Murray and Marvin Harrison Jr. be damned. Winning teams don’t allow this kind of thing.

There is a lot of season left and a lot of time to turn this around. But man, it’s not going to be easy with this schedule. The Bears desperately needed to rack up wins early, and while 4-3 is good compared to where they’ve been the last two seasons, 5-2 with the tiebreaker over the Commanders is much better.

It will take at least 10 wins to make the playoffs in the NFC, and quite possibly 11. That means the Bears may need to finish the year 7-3 while facing the Packers, Vikings and Lions twice, as well as the Cardinals. , Niners and Seahawks. That’s a tall order for any team.

Beating the Commanders would have put the Bears even with the suddenly faltering Vikings and a half-game ahead of Washington. Instead, they are now two full games behind the Lions for the division lead. Only the Saints, Giants and Panthers are more than one game behind the Bears in the ultra-competitive NFC.

The Bears’ schedule had them facing the Commanders, Cardinals and Patriots before reaching the divisional challenge that begins when they host the Packers in Week 11. To have any chance of making the postseason, they had to earn at least two outs . of three of those games to reach 6-4. Next week’s game in Arizona now becomes a must-win, but with an 0-3 road record on the season and a 3-17 road record with Eberflus, success in the desert is far from over. guaranteed.

Every season has its defining moments and the Bears only had one. There’s a good chance we’ll look back on January and point to the last play against the Commanders as the turning point when a good season went down the drain.