Is 2024 season slipping away for Matt Eberflus and the Chicago Bears? ‘We’ve got to take an inward look’

GLENDALE, Ariz. – Sunday felt like a tipping point.

Following last week’s dramatic loss on Jayden Daniels’ 52-yard Hail Mary touchdown, head coach Matt Eberflus’ Chicago Bears were either going to harness that heartbreak and definitively put that loss behind them with a win over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday – or things were going to slide downhill fast.

After Sunday’s 29-9 drubbing at the hands of the Cardinals, it certainly looks like the latter.

“It wasn’t good enough, from top to bottom,” Bears linebacker TJ Edwards said. “We know that. That’s not us, and we’ve got to find a way to win. That wasn’t good enough from anyone.”

Bears rookie quarterback Caleb Williams was sacked six times, and the offense spent most of the afternoon stuck in the mud at State Farm Stadium in Arizona. The Bears did not score a touchdown, and the offense went 3 for 14 on third downs.

On the other side of the football, the Cardinals proved to be the offense that finally cracked the Bears’ defense. Quarterback Kyler Murray led three touchdown-scoring drives in the first half. Sunday marked the first time since Week 11 of last season that the Bears allowed more than 21 points (a 13-game streak).

We’ve got to take an inward look. Everybody.”

—  Matt Eberflus, Bears head coach

Given all the adversity the Bears faced this week, it was a disheartening effort from Eberflus’ team.

“We’ve got to take an inward look. Everybody,” Eberflus said.

The Bears showed some fight in the first half. Williams led the offense to a field goal to make it a five-point game, 14-9, with less than 30 seconds to go in the second quarter. But for the second week in a row, the Bears allowed a touchdown in less than 30 seconds at the end of a half. This one wasn’t a Hail Mary at the buzzer, but in some regards it felt like a knockout blow.

With the Bears’ defense trying to keep Arizona out of field goal range, Arizona running back Emari Demercado took a third-down handoff near midfield and broke free for a 53-yard touchdown run down the right sideline.

Inside State Farm Stadium, which was filled with plenty of Bears fans, it felt like the game ended at that moment. Eberflus, who calls plays for the defense, said he didn’t have his team in the best look on that play.

“That’s on me,” Eberflus said. “I called a pass pressure, and they ended up running the ball. I can make a better call there. That’s on me.”

After that, Eberflus’ team had no fight in the second half. The offense went three-and-out on the opening possession of the second half. From there it was a slow march toward defeat. Williams finished his day 22-for-41 passing for 217 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions.

The Bears talked all week about how they had put last week’s Hail Mary play behind them. Eberflus noted that cornerback Tyrique Stevenson – who wasn’t paying attention at the start of the Hail Mary last week – had a good week of practice, but the coach still benched him to start Sunday’s game.

Backup Terell Smith started in place of Stevenson, but Stevenson wound up playing most of the game after Smith injured his ankle.

“He played well today, had a good pass breakup, had some nice tackles,” Eberflus said of Stevenson. “So he put his best foot forward. His teammates and his coaches and all of us in that circle have got his back.”

Just two weeks ago, the Bears were sitting at 4-2. On paper, Washington and Arizona were winnable games. So is next week’s matchup with New England. After that, the schedule gets much tougher (all six division games, plus the 49ers and Seahawks to round out the season). There are no easy wins in sight.

At 4-4 now, the path to the playoffs looks immeasurably harder than it did two weeks ago. The players, at least publicly, don’t think Eberflus has lost the locker room.

But this has been a deflating eight days for this team.

“I think the guys are, obviously the spirits aren’t good, but I think the guys are there,” Williams said. “I think the guys are bought in.”