Here’s what Matt Eberflus, Chicago Bears said Monday after loss to Arizona Cardinals

Bears coach Matt Eberflus and a few players met with reporters over Zoom on Monday a day after the team suffered a deflating loss against the Arizona Cardinals on the road.

Rookie quarterback Caleb Williams and the offense failed to score a touchdown for the second time this season, while the defense had no answers for the Cardinals’ run game. After losing on a last-minute Hail Mary against the Commanders a week before, the performance was lackluster and started raising questions whether the season is slipping away from Eberflus and the Bears.

The Bears will try to get right this week as they prepare to take on the 2-7 New England Patriots on Sunday at Soldier Field. Here are three of the most interesting things the Bears said Monday.

On team’s confidence in Shane Waldron

Despite another disappointing offensive showing, Eberflus reiterated his confidence in offensive coordinator Shane Waldron on Monday. Eberflus said that he won’t change the team’s offensive play caller.

“The changes we’re going to make is we’re going to look inward and making sure that we do a good job of utilizing our talents and our skill and really just general basic execution of our plan,” Eberflus said. “And we have to make sure we’re doing that going forward, and we’ll put that plan into place here.”

Through eight games, Williams’ and the offensive’s development haven’t looked how many hoped when Waldron took over. The Bears have gained the fewest amount of yards (2,357) in the NFL heading into Monday night and have thrown the third-fewest (1,457), just ahead of the Patriots and the Tennessee Titans. They’re 24th in the league with 900 rushing yards.

Waldron and the offense showed improvements during a three-game stretch against the Los Angeles Rams, Carolina Panthers and Jacksonville Jaguars where the team scored at least 28 points in each game. But in the two games since the team’s Week 7 bye, the Bears have failed to gain any offensive momentum, scoring just two touchdowns.

“The changes we’re going to make is we’re going to look inward and making sure that we do a good job of utilizing our talents and our skill and really just general basic execution of our plan. And we have to make sure we’re doing that going forward, and we’ll put that plan into place here.”

—  Matt Eberflus, Bears head coach

Despite the two-game snag, Bears rookie wide receiver Rome Odunze also voiced his support of Waldron on Monday, saying he’s doing a great job. Both Eberflus and Odunze agreed the Bears need to stop making mistakes, like pre-snap penalties, and focus on small details in order to get the offense going.

“I think we have glimpses of the success that we can have,” Odunze said. “I think it’s a consistency aspect to it. I think we need to consistently be on our A-game and be able to execute play in and play out through four quarters.”

On Eberflus’ future after a couple tough losses

Eberflus admitted that there was a higher level of urgency around the team after the way the Bears lost their past two games. The team dropped its Week 8 matchup against the Commanders on a last-second Hail Mary and then came out sluggish against the Cardinals on Sunday.

But Eberflus said that urgency grows any time the Bears start stacking losses.

“Whenever you lose two in a row in the NFL, there’s always a heightened sense of urgency, because you have to get that win column back ... ” Eberflus said. “We have to find answers and find solutions to where we are right now. We moved in the right direction for three weeks, and in the last couple, we got to make sure that we have to find answers right now, moving into this week.”

There might be more of a sense of urgency for Eberflus himself as he tries to prove to general manager Ryan Poles that he can right the ship this season and lead this team for years to come. The Bears are 14-27 in two-and-a-half seasons under Eberflus and 3-17 on the road.

The road won’t be easier for the Bears in the second half of the season. After playing the Patriots on Sunday, they’ll play each division opponent twice on top of the San Francisco 49ers (4-4) and Seattle Seahawks (4-5). The Green Bay Packers, Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings are a combined 19-6.

Eberflus didn’t seem concerned when asked about pressure Monday.

“This is a week-to-week league,” Eberflus said. “It’s important that we stay focused on this week and the improvements for this week and stay dialed into those improvements. Then we put that plan into place in practice, and that’s what we can focus on.”

On the Bears’ morale and where they stand

The Bears aren’t letting a tough two-week stretch hurt the team’s morale with nine games left in the regular season.

“I believe in anybody, everybody in this building to get this job done, week-in and week-out,” Odunze said. “So we just need to come together and tighten up the screws a little bit and be able to execute those things come Sunday.”

How the Bears move on from this two-week stretch likely could define their season. On Sunday, Williams said he thought the Bears could’ve moved on quicker from the Commanders loss. Although Eberflus didn’t directly answer a question about Williams’ comments Monday, Eberflus did say it’s important for the team to move on 24 hours after a game ends each week.

Bears safety Kevin Byard said he personally moved on from the loss quickly and didn’t see anything from the Commanders loss that impacted Sunday’s loss to the Cardinals. For Byard, it’s all about how players manage distractions in or outside Halas Hall throughout the season.

“I just tend to focus on what’s important, tend to focus on what needs to be focused on,” Byard said. “That’s obviously correcting the things that we need to correct so we can go out here and get a win and get out of this rut.”