Here’s what Chicago Bears, Matt Eberflus said Monday after losing to Green Bay Packers

LAKE FOREST – Bears coach Matt Eberflus and some players met with reporters Monday at Halas Hall a day after the Bears suffered another stunning loss in the final seconds, this time a 20-19 defeat to the Green Bay Packers.

Sunday’s loss hurt the Bears in multiple ways. Not only did the Bears lose their fourth straight game and 11th straight to the Packers on a blocked field goal attempt as the game ended, but the loss also negated rookie quarterback Caleb Williams making plays in the final minutes to put his team in position to win.

The Bears will need to regroup as they will now play two games in the next 10 days, starting with the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday at Soldier Field. Here are three of the most interesting things the Bears said Monday.

On an improved offensive performance

Eberflus has emphasized the importance of Williams getting the ball to the Bears’ playmakers for much of the season. After former offensive coordinator Shane Waldron failed to do that most of the year, new offensive coordinator Thomas Brown did it right away Sunday.

Williams completed passes to six receivers. Receivers Rome Odunze, DJ Moore and Keenan Allen and tight end Cole Kmet were each targeted at least three times and each finished with more than 40 receiving yards. Odunze led the group with 65 receiving yards, followed by Moore (62), Kmet (42) and Allen (41).

Williams seemed more comfortable in the change at play caller. He threw for 231 yards, the third-most he’s thrown in a game this season, was mostly accurate and made impressive plays to put the Bears in a spot to win at the end.

“The distribution to the skill was really good,” Eberflus said “I thought his timing, his progressions were good, really good. And that was up to the whole week. His whole week was like that. His completion percentage was high during the week. His ability to adjust and change.”

Players complimented Brown after the game for focusing on details and improving communication during the week and the game Sunday. Brown diversified the play calling, including more rushes and screens to Moore, which resulted in positive plays.

The Bears felt like it all led to a smoother process, which ushered in better offensive results.

“I think this week, having a little bit more juice led to better success in all types [of plays],” left tackle Braxton Jones said. “The run game, pass game, all of it being a big correlation to us just having more juice and being better in practice.”

On not running a play before the last-second field goal

Eberflus once again defended his decision to not run another play and try to gain a few yards to make kicker Cairo Santos’ 46-yard attempt a little bit easier.

The Bears had about 30 seconds left in the game and a timeout left when Roschon Johnson completed a 2-yard run to the Green Bay 28-yard line. But Eberflus said there were too many factors that could’ve gone wrong, whether it was a fumble, tipped ball on a pass or a penalty, that he decided it was best to just attempt the kick.

“We felt good where it was, the wind was not a factor there, we felt good where he was on the field,” Eberflus said. “And we felt very confident in his ability to get that done.”

Eberflus did say that the Bears will ask the NFL to review the play after Karl Brooks, who blocked the kick, made contact with Bears long snapper Scott Daly on the attempt. Under NFL rules, long snappers are in a “defenseless posture” and any unnecessary contact is considered to be a penalty of 15 yards and a first down.

Although Eberflus liked the mechanics of the snap, hold and kick of the attempt, he thought the offensive line could’ve been firmer inside. Jones thought the breakdown came down to execution from all 11 players on the field.

“I think the biggest thing is looking at the film, seeing where each player can be better in their protection and going from there,” Jones said.

On defensive lapses

While the defense created a turnover and stopped Green Bay from scoring deep in its territory, some lapses allowed the Packers to score in key moments.

The first came on the Packers’ first drive when quarterback Jordan Love completed a 15-yard touchdown pass to Jayden Reed. The Bears were confused on the play and in the middle of substituting players even though the Packers weren’t. They were called for too many men on the field, which was declined for the touchdown.

“That’s on us,” Eberflus said. “When they don’t sub, we’re not supposed to sub. That was on us.”

There were other momentary lapses that allowed the Packers to move the ball down the field. Whether they got the Bears to jump offside on fourth down or Love completed a 60-yard pass to Christian Watson because cornerback Jaylon Johnson slipped, the Packers took advantage of Bears mistakes.

“The distribution to the skill was really good. I thought his timing, his progressions were good, really good. And that was up to the whole week. His whole week was like that. His completion percentage was high during the week. His ability to adjust and change.”

—  Matt Eberflus, Bears head coach

Despite the moments, safety Kevin Byard said he doesn’t think there’s anything more the defense’s captains need to do in order for the Bears to be focused defensively.

“There are things that happen during the game that we can be better in that, in totality, the reason why we lose games,” Byard said. “But at the end of the day, we just had to continue to just work and just try to make sure that we’re not just separated. I think we’re a close group as a team.”