LAKE FOREST, Ill. (670 The Score) — In the aftermath of a pivotal play that failed in the Bears’ 31-28 loss to the Broncos on Sunday, offensive coordinator Luke Getsy stood by the call Tuesday but lamented the lack of execution.
The Bears faced a fourth-and-1 from the Broncos’ 18-yard line with 2:57 remaining in a 28-28 tie when head coach Matt Eberflus elected to keep the offense on the field. Following a timeout after Chicago initially failed to draw Denver’s defense offsides, quarterback Justin Fields returned to the line of scrimmage in a shotgun formation.
The play call was a read-option with Fields and running back Khalil Herbert. The Bears used 12 personnel with tight ends Cole Kmet and Robert Tonyan flanked to the right side of the offensive line. The Broncos had a five-man front with two middle linebackers ready.
Fields elected to hand off to Herbert on the read option, but he was met at the line of scrimmage by Broncos linebacker Alex Singleton, whose disguise blitz blew up the play.
“We liked the call,” Getsy said. “Obviously, we didn’t execute it necessarily. But we knew how (the Broncos) were going to line up, we had the right call, Justin made the right decision with his (read option), we just didn’t get it done.
“It still takes us doing the job, and we didn’t necessarily do the job to get that one done.”
Bears rookie right tackle Darnell Wright missed a block on the blitzing Singleton, which proved to be the decisive breakdown on the play. Had Wright made the block, Herbert would’ve easily picked up the first down.
On the ensuing possession, the Broncos marched 48 yards to set up the go-ahead field goal from kicker Wil Lutz with 1:51 remaining. Fields was intercepted on the Bears' ensuing drive, sealing the win for the Broncos.
Eberflus explained that the Bears' decision to forgo a go-ahead field-goal attempt on fourth-and-1 was based on analytics in addition to his own conviction. The Bears hoped that by rushing for a first down, they'd be able to drain the remaining game clock to either set up a go-ahead touchdown or a game-winning field-goal try for kicker Cairo Santos in the final seconds.
“We’re going for it,” Eberflus said. “We’re going to seal the game. We’re going to put the game away. We’re going to trust in our offense. The way they have been playing all day, that’s an important factor. That’s what we did. We made that decision.”
The Bears had a 28-7 lead that was held until 14 seconds remained in the third quarter. The Broncos then scored 24 unanswered points in a stunning comeback at Soldier Field.
The Bears’ offense produced a season-best 471 yards in a breakthrough performance, albeit against a Broncos defense that ranks dead last in the NFL in points allowed and yards surrendered. For his part, Getsy believes that production is sustainable moving forward.
“Just showing that we were kind of able to go into the game plan and play the way we wanted to play,” Getsy said. “We were able to run the ball. We talked about (seeking explosive plays) last week, I thought we were able to go get those in the run game. Any time you’re able to do that, that’s going to open up other things for yourself. So, it was an opportunity for us to go out and we were able to execute a little better in each area. We were able to create more explosives, and that always leads to more points.”
Chris Emma covers the Bears, Chicago’s sports scene and more for 670TheScore.com. Follow him on Twitter @CEmma670.