CHICAGO (670 The Score) -- First-year Bears general manager Ryan Poles looked through a dejected locker room and felt the pulse of his players as he walked toward the exit. His head was hanging too.
The Bears blew a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter and came up short once again Sunday, losing 31-30 to the Lions at Soldier Field. The game featured second-year quarterback Justin Fields continuing to make encouraging progress – and yes, the outcome will help the Bears earn a higher draft pick – but Poles also knows well that his young team yearns to start winning games now as it builds for the future.
It’s part of why Poles coveted Matt Eberflus as his hand-picked head coach, a man he hoped could build the Bears a winning culture. Chicago has now lost six of its last seven games and fallen to 3-7 on the season. Those in the locker room simply don't care about draft position or spend much time looking at the big picture as the losses keep piling up.
“I’ll tell you what they are getting, is perseverance,” Eberflus said. “Determination. That's what they will get. Everybody is going to look at this and say, ‘Hey, you’ve lost six out of seven,’ and all the things the outside noise will be. Well, let’s have winning habits. Make sure we have winning habits every single day.”
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As Eberflus’ task is to keep the Bears on track this season, Poles’ priority is on the long-term future. It’s why he dealt veteran pass rusher Robert Quinn (to the Eagles) and star linebacker Roquan Smith (to the Ravens) prior to the trade deadline on Nov. 1.
Now, the Bears are feeling the effect of those exits. They simply don’t have the collective talent to compete on defense. They were gashed once again Sunday, this time by Lions quarterback Jared Goff and top receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown. Chicago failed to force a game-changing turnover – a questionable penalty call played a part of that – and allowed Detroit to rally back with 21 points in the fourth quarter.
“We already know how the calls go,” Bears safety Eddie Jackson said. “We can’t do nothing about that. We got to stay disciplined and do our job. I feel like some of the calls were kind of BS But in the end, we got to leave no doubt. We got to come in, do what we have to do, put ourselves in those types of situations, especially with a 14-point lead.
“We can’t keep shooting ourselves in the foot. I'm tired of getting up here and saying the same thing every week. It's becoming repetitive.
“I'm just tired of sounding like a broken record, week in and week out. We got to do our jobs. We got to be better on defense.”
As the defense faltered, Fields led the Bears’ offense with another standout performance that inspired more confidence in his future. He was 12-of-20 for 167 yards, two touchdowns and an interception through the air while adding 13 rushes for 147 yards on the ground. Fields made more history on several instances, including with a sensational 67-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. It set the Bears’ new franchise record for the longest rushing play by a quarterback, breaking Fields' own record that he set with a 61-yard touchdown run the previous week.
The remarkable touchdown run by Fields could've been the play that led the Bears to a victory, but kicker Cairo Santos missed the ensuing extra-point attempt and the Lions answered with a go-ahead touchdown drive to take the lead with 2:21 remaining.
The Bears' final drive then stalled in six plays, with Fields being taken down on a sack to end their hopes. Once again, Fields couldn’t celebrate his own individual history because of a team loss.
“It’s just where your priorities are as a player,” Fields said. “Is it to break records or is it to win? Personally, mine is to win. I don’t care about breaking records. I just want to win games.”
This defeat marked the fifth time in the Bears' seven losses that they lost by one score. The contest swung on a negated interception by rookie linebacker Jack Sanborn early in the fourth quarter, when cornerback Jaylon Johnson was flagged for illegal hands to the face. The Lions scored on a nine-yard touchdown run by running back Jamaal Williams one play later to make it a one-score game.
Just more than one minute later, Fields made a poor decision with an errant pass that resulted in a pick-six for Lions cornerback Jeff Okudah and led to Detroit tying the game at 24-24. Even after Fields produced his latest highlight-reel moment with that 67-yard touchdown run on the ensuing series, the Bears couldn’t close out a game that was theirs for the taking.
Poles and Eberflus see a young team that’s struggling to handle losses that are stacking up. As Fields' play has the organization on an upward trajectory for its long-term future, the Bears are also desperate to win.
“It will eventually crack,” Eberflus said. “If we keep having winning habits, doing things the right way and executing in the critical moments, it will crack.”
Chris Emma covers the Bears, Chicago’s sports scene and more for 670TheScore.com. Follow him on Twitter @CEmma670.
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