4 Mistakes That Lost the Game for the Bears: Coach Matt Eberflus has some explaining to do after the Hail Mary collapse

Matt Eberflus posted a 10-24 record in his first two years as head coach of the Chicago Bears.

This season, the team entered a new era – out with quarterback Justin Fields and in with quarterback Caleb Williams, whom the Bears took with the No. 1 overall draft pick. Ownership believed in Eberflu enough to give him more time to show he was a championship-caliber coach.

And perhaps Eberflus will prove to be just that.

If he can do that, he will have to overcome – quickly – the late-game breakdown in coaching and team management on Sunday, which not only resulted in an 18-15 loss to Washington and not only dropped the Bears to 4-3 on the season but has the potential to linger in the locker room and define the season.

Eberflus must ensure that the last two games of defeat do not shape his coaching career.

To recap: First-and-10, Washington had the ball at its own 35-yard line with just six seconds left without calling a timeout. Chicago led 15-12, so Washington needed a touchdown.

The Commanders were too far from the end zone for a Hail Mary, but had just enough time to grab 8, 10, 12 yards, get out of bounds and attempt a final heave.

Chicago went into Hail Mary coverage anyway, leaving the short sideline used by Washington offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury and quarterback Jayden Daniels. They got the ball to Terry McLaurin down the left sideline for 13 yards in four seconds. Now they were on the edge of the Hail Mary Range – their own 48 – with two seconds left.

After the game, Eberflus shrugged off the decision not to defend the short sideline, as many teams do.

“That’s where you defend the touchdown,” the coach said. “And it doesn’t matter if they throw the ball 13 yards or 10 yards, whatever that is. It will always come down to the last move.”

However, those 13 yards were important because Daniels cannot throw a ball 75-80 yards – as would have been required in the past. The denial of importance is undermined by the fact that Eberflus stands on the sideline before the snap and waves to a cornerback to move up instead of defending 60 yards further down.

Chicago also had three timeouts and could have used one of them to readjust the defense. Instead, the Bears conceded field position.

Then came the last game in which the following mistakes were made:

1. Only three defenders rush. This allowed Washington to double every pass rusher and allowed Daniels to move around the pocket, gaining 13 seconds – 13! – because his receivers not only come all the way down, but actually adjust and are able to all come together around the eventual pass.

Just a week earlier, Detroit faced a similar situation – Minnesota had the ball alone at the 45th line and needed a miracle move. Lions head coach Dan Campbell rushed five times – including three from the left side to force Vikings right-handed quarterback Sam Darnold to move left and make any possible throw more difficult. Not that it mattered, Darnold was quickly sacked before any Viking receivers could get anywhere near the end zone.

Detroit won.

2. Spy on Daniels. Chicago actually had a fourth defender near the line of scrimmage and only dropped seven defensive backs. However, linebacker TJ Edwards never hurried and instead appeared to contain Daniels. Was there concern that Daniels might scramble 52 yards – past seven Bears downfield?

Why not either speed up the four or drop the eight? Either force two one-on-one pass rush scenarios — instead of none — or put another person in the end zone who may have prevented this disaster.

Instead, the Bears essentially played 10-on-11.

3. Tyrique Stevenson. The cornerback was seen with his back to the game and taunted the Washington fans before the ball was snapped.

Is it too much to ask a head coach to see that, take a time out and get everyone focused again? Maybe, but this is the NFL.

He actually did this for four seconds, so he was distracted and out of position when the ball reached the goal line.

“To Chicago and his teammates, I apologize for the lack of attention and focus,” Stevenson wrote on social media. “The game is only over when there are zeros on the clock. I can't take anything for granted. Notes taken, improvements will occur.”

At least Stevenson took his share of the blame. The head coach, who may have hammered those “notes” into the team’s head before the game, still hasn’t done it.

4. Positioning. Eberflus was puzzled by how the coverage collapsed. Washington had three receivers converge on the pass, which landed at about the 2-yard line. They had another pass catcher a few yards in front of the scrimmage in case the ball was hit forward, and one – Noah Brown – a few yards behind in case it went that way.

This is a standard “Hail Mary” piece. Except Chicago double-covered the frontman and sent five players into the crowd, leaving Brown all alone in the end zone.

Eberflus said Monday that it was Stevenson, the fan-interacting defensive back, who was assigned to deep contain (covering Brown).

“We’ve practiced this play 100 times since we’ve been here,” Eberflus said. “And again, I have to look at the execution, but we have a body-on-the-body boxing guy. Like basketball at the very end, we have a guy throwing the ball to the ground.

You clearly need to train for the 101st time. Or Eberflus had to use a time out to remind her. Either way, the knives are out among Bears fans and if Eberflus wants to survive in Chicago, he's going to have to make sure the mood and morale in the locker room isn't the same.

“Our guys believe in each other, trust each other, have faith in each other,” Eberflus said. “They are a resilient bunch. They will come back more determined.”

He better hope so.