Matt Eberflus will go down in NFL Thanksgiving Day lore, but not for a desirable reason. The Bears' head coach has drawn the ire of Bears fans after he chose not to use his final timeout in the waning seconds of Chicago's 23-20 loss to the Detroit Lions.
The NFL Today analyst JJ Watt spoke for essentially the entire Giants fan base when he posted the following shortly after Chicago's loss:
Man I feel for you Bears fans.
— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) November 28, 2024
That was just brutal.
Literal coaching malpractice.
Here's a look at the play in case you didn't see it. As you can see, the Bears let over 30 seconds drain off the clock before quarterback Caleb Williams' attempted a desperation heave on the game's final play. Adding insult to injury was the fact that Williams' throw didn't reach the end zone.
"I can't believe they didn't take a timeout!"
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) November 28, 2024
Lions win in a CRAZY finish over the Bears 😮 pic.twitter.com/iLqZLMKpDh
When asked to explain that sequence, Eberflus said that the hope was that Bears would run a play with around 18 seconds left on the clock, throw the ball and then call the timeout. That obviously didn't happen, much to the chagrin of Bears fans everywhere.
The sequence soured what had been an inspiring performance by Eberflus' team. It was an especially big day for Williams, who threw for 256 yards and three touchdowns.
