Bears: Quick TNF Turnaround Puts More Spotlight on NFL's Worst Team
In desperate need of a win, downing Washington may be only one cure needed
By Russel Wiafe
This past Sunday every opportunity presented itself to the Chicago Bears to put behind their uninspiring 0-3 start to the 2023 season, one filled with many ponderous on and off-the-field issues.
But instead, things went from bad to worse, as the Bears allowed one of the worst come-from-in-front losses ever for the franchise, by a score of 31-28 to Denver.
After falling behind 28-7, a Broncos team that scored only 20 points the week prior, in what was deemed their rock bottom, dropped 24 points in the second half against Chicago, transferring the tag of the NFL’s biggest embarrassment to a Bears team who’s latest campaign looks to be as low as the bottom of Lake Michigan at the moment.
So what is a now 0-4 team that is out of answers to do? Well, normally, taking on the Washington Commanders, as they will this Thursday night, would be a sufficient cure for one’s ills, but even breaking the league’s longest current losing streak may not be enough to truly turn things around, not if the following three issues aren’t honestly addressed.
The Sacrificial Lamb
Chase Claypool has played his last game for the Chicago Bears according to multiple reports, as the absence of the seemingly mercurial wide receiver from team activities throughout the past week, including his not dressing against the Broncos on Sunday, is the talk of town and a sticking point on national television. This, together with the still-mysterious resignation of defensive coordinator Alan Williams and Justin Fields' comments about being static and robotic, lead the way in the category of Most Outstanding Distraction over the first four weeks of the season.
Claypool will remain unwelcome to the team this week according to head coach Matt Eberflus, but Claypool’s presence as a flop acquisition that hasn’t added to the progression of Fields hasn’t meant much in the grand scheme of things involving a deeply flawed team. An overall ineffective wide-out doesn’t equal an 0-4 start, but he can represent much of it and it seems that’s just the role Claypool is playing now — that of the sacrificial lamb.
Sure, the play calling has been dreadful, the defense is nonexistent and the players’ have shown little fight both against dreaded rivals and teams arguably as sorry as they are, but if the brain trust at Halas Hall would have it their way they’d probably like for all this to fall on the guy they gave up the 32nd pick for, who enticed him with the possibilities of his rangy limbs and Notre Dame credentials.
As far as the players themselves, they want to remind everyone that the Bears are more than the sum of these painful distractions. They can be better, says linebacker Tremaine Edmunds, and he is adamant the team can pick up the pieces starting on against the Commanders.
“There are going to be some storms, obviously, you can't run from those storms,” Edmunds, one of the team’s four captains, told the media on Monday. “We are not shying away from anything. If anything, it's making us better, its building us closer, its marching us together as a football team. Sometimes you must go through some stuff to get on the other side and how you handle these storms.”
The Coaching Problem
The last time Chicago Bears won a game was in October 2022. We’re approaching an entire calendar year for the worst losing streak in franchise history and coach ‘Flus, now 3-17 as a head coach, is rightfully on the hot seat.
Nothing has crystallized the failed Eberflus regime thus far more than his decision to go for it on 4th and 1 at the Broncos’ 18-yard line with 2:57 left on the clock with the score tied at 28-28. Of course, the conversion attempt failed, Denver went on to score the game-winning field goal and the Bears were left to wallow in another unbelievable turn of events that left them on the wrong side of a final score.
The wide-held belief afterward was that Eberflus didn’t trust his defense enough to stop Russell Wilson and Denver’s offense with a three point lead — why kick the field goal and leave enough time for Russ to cook up one more touchdown to decide things?
On the podium with the media at Soldier Field, Eberflus somewhat explained his rationale for such an atrocious game-hinging decision.
“We have talked about this all the time, we decided we were going to trust in our offense and put the game away, by getting first down running more time of the clock and trying to score,” Eberflus said.
“If we execute in that moment, were going to get it and we were going to have a chance to seal the game. You score a touchdown, and we are taking a timeout. We were trying to seal the game right there and do a good job. We liked where we were running the ball at that time as an offense.”
After about a season and a half of game evidence we can now say it's a fact that Eberflus doesn’t have an idea how he wants offense to be executed on a team of his. If he did then it wouldn’t be so hard for his offensive coordinator, Luke Getsy, to bring his ideas to fruition. It is time for both to be shown the exit door, cause neither man has shown himself able to bring out of the Bears what is needed to run an effective, modern NFL offense.
The Injury Concern
The Bears are painfully shorthanded in the secondary ahead of this must-win game against the Washington Commanders. Both safety Eddie Jackson (foot) and cornerback Jaylon Johnson (hamstring) have been ruled out for this game, this on top of Josh Blackwell and Kyler Gordon (hand injury) already being on IR.
But the team gets a little respite in the return of left guard Teven Jenkins who is tracking for a return Thursday night. Jenkins has been on IR before the start of the 2023 season after damaging his calf muscle during the team’s practice game against Colts.
The return of Jenkins will be a major boost for the team at a position where Jenkins’ effective play can mean a lot for the improvement of the offensive execution. Jenkins is also regarded as a leader in the locker room and the more leadership, the better for a team as lost as this one.
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