The Chicago Bears suffer another bitter defeat after the team was unable to use the remaining timeout

The Chicago Bears’ season of suffering continued on Thursday as they lost to the Detroit Lions in another close game.

Bears quarterback Caleb Williams trailed 23-20 and entered Lions territory with less than a minute left in regulation. He was sacked on second down after failing to find a receiver.

That left Chicago with a third-and-long with about 33 seconds left from the Lions’ 41-yard line. The Bears had a timeout, but the team did not use that timeout, which was questioned by the game’s announcers during the game.

Instead, Chicago tried not to huddle and run one more play, presumably to make a game-winning field goal a little easier for its kicker. But the offense was slow to get back to the line of scrimmage and grab the ball, causing time to expire on the following play in which Williams tripped his intended receiver in the end zone.

In his postgame press conference, Bears head coach Matt Eberflus – already on the hot seat after a series of mismanagement decisions in the game – admitted that he had hoped to make one more play and then call a timeout.

But when the clock showed 12 seconds, he decided to forfeit the game.

“We wanted to repeat that,” he said, referring to returning to the line of scrimmage, “getting a play in bounds and then calling a timeout.”

“We just have to do a better job together,” he added.

To put Eberflus’ tenure in context: According to the Associated Press, 221 coaches have decided 20 or more games in their career by 7 points or fewer. With a winning percentage of 0.227 (5-17) in these games, Eberflus is ranked 221st.

Reaction to the Bears’ decision-making on social media was swift and critical.

“Man, I feel for you Bears fans. That was just brutal,” said former NFL defensive lineman and future Hall of Famer JJ Watt. “Literal coaching mistake.”

Kyle Brandt, co-host of “Good Morning Football” on the NFL Network, noted that the loss continued a pattern that has occurred throughout the Bears’ 2024 season, which also featured a Hail Mary loss, two blocked draws or game errors. Winning field goals at the end of regulation time and a loss to the worst team in the league.

“You can’t imagine it getting more brutal. And then it happens. And then it happens three more times,” Brandt said on X. “This Bears season is like watching a SAW movie.”

During CBS’ postgame show, former NFL quarterback Matt Ryan blasted Eberflus.

“This is unacceptable,” Ryan said. “From the position of head coach, it is your responsibility not to panic in critical situations.”

The Bears’ record fell to 4-8 with Thursday’s loss, their sixth straight loss.

The Lions, meanwhile, improved to 11-1, the best mark in the NFL.