Matt Eberflus could be running out of time in Chicago after botching a timeout: Analysis

Updated Nov. 29, 2024 6:00 a.m. ET

Associated Press

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Matt Eberflus could be running out of time in Chicago after botching a timeout while a national audience watched on Thanksgiving.

The clock is ticking on Brian Daboll in New York.

Mike McDaniel isn’t on the hot seat but Miami won’t go anywhere if the Dolphins can’t win in the cold.

Eberflus’ mistake was so egregious Thursday it wouldn’t be a surprise if the Bears made a coaching change.

The embattled third-year coach’s massive blunder overshadowed an impressive second-half performance by Caleb Williams after the rookie No. 1 pick rallied the Bears into position to potentially upset Detroit.

Eberflus then doubled down on the decision to allow precious seconds to tick off the clock.

Trailing the Lions 23-20, the Bears faced a second-and-20 at the Detroit 35 with 36 seconds remaining in the game. Williams was sacked by Za’Darius Smith for a 6-yard loss on a play he said was supposed to be a quarterback draw.

Eberflus should’ve used Chicago’s final timeout with 32 seconds left to give Williams and the offense an opportunity to reset after the sack. The priority on third-and-26 from the 41 should’ve been to call a short sideline pass to shorten the attempt for a tying field goal. Even a play in the middle of the field would’ve given the special-teams unit ample time to line up for a kick.

Instead, the clock kept ticking. Williams was helped up by two offensive linemen and his teammates lacked urgency lining up for the next play, perhaps thinking a timeout was going to be called. The Bears wasted 26 seconds before the ball was finally snapped to Williams with just 6 seconds to go. His deep pass to Rome Odunze fell incomplete as time expired before Cairo Santos could try a 59-yarder.

The decision not to stop the clock after the sack was inexplicable. Yet, Eberflus defended it.

“Our hope was, because it was third (down) going into fourth, that we would re-rack that play at 18 seconds, throw it inbounds, get it in field-goal range and then call a timeout,” Eberflus said. “And that’s where it was and that was our decision-making process on that.”

Williams also deserves blame for taking too much time to survey the field at the line of scrimmage before calling for the snap.

“I like what we did there,” Eberflus insisted. “I think we handled it the right way. I believe we could re-rack the play and get it done. It just didn’t work out.”

Eberflus should’ve had two timeouts entering that sequence but he had to waste one after Williams threw an incomplete pass on first down that stopped the clock with 43 seconds left.

He called that timeout to prevent a delay-of-game penalty because offensive coordinator Thomas Brown took too long to call a play.

The Bears are 4-8 following their sixth straight loss. A season that began with high expectations has deteriorated and Chicago is destined to miss the playoffs for the fifth straight year. Eberflus is 14-32 and isn’t helping his case with his questionable decisions.

Daboll didn’t have to mess anything up on Thursday to further jeopardize his position. His job status with the Giants has been iffy for weeks. The 2022 AP NFL Coach of the Year is 2-10 following a 27-20 loss at Dallas.

The Giants have lost seven straight games and are likely headed for a major overhaul that would include general manager Joe Schoen.

After a 2-5 start, owner John Mara said: “We are not making changes this season, and I do not anticipate making any changes in the offseason, either.”

The team hasn’t won a game since his vote of confidence.

“No, I don’t like the results,” Daboll said. “Nobody likes the results. But, again, I have confidence in the people. Just have to get better.”

The holiday tripleheader concluded with the Green Bay Packers defeating the Dolphins 30-17. Miami (5-7) has lost 12 straight games in which the temperature at kickoff has been below 40 degrees, according to Sportradar.

McDaniel led the Dolphins to the playoffs in each of his first two seasons, both ending with wild-card losses on the road in Buffalo two years ago and Kansas City last season.

With road games at Cleveland and the New York Jets to finish the season, Miami should have two more chances to break that cold-weather losing streak.

It could be too late to matter this season.

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