Bears' failed fourth-and-4 play in loss to Vikings illustrates disorganization of Matt Eberflus' operation
CHICAGO (670 The Score) — If one play could summarize the Bears' disorganization in head coach Matt Eberflus' tenure in Chicago, it came in the third quarter of an eventual 30-27 overtime loss to the Vikings on Sunday.
With just more than 10 minutes remaining in the third quarter, the Bears faced fourth-and-4 at the Vikings' 27-yard line while trailing 17-10. The clock was ticking after a five-yard completion to receiver Keenan Allen short of the sticks, and Eberflus initially started the process to pull his offense off the field in favor of the kicking team.
Bears kicker Cairo Santo ran onto the field along with punter Tory Taylor – the holder on kicks – and long snapper Scott Daly. Then, Eberflus called Santos and the kicking unit back off the field and kept the offense out there as the play clock continued to run.
The delayed decision on whether to kick a field goal or go for it on fourth down left new Bears offensive coordinator Thomas Brown without enough time to get the entire play call through to rookie quarterback Caleb Williams. NFL headset communication cuts off with 15 seconds left on the play clock, which was when Williams was relaying the play call in the huddle.
The Bears' operation at the line of scrimmage was rushed. With five seconds left on the play clock, Williams signaled out for Allen to run an out route. He took the snap with zeroes on the play clock, with the Bears fortunate to avoid a delay-of-game penalty.
Williams' pass to Allen hit off his hands and fell incomplete.
"In those moments, you don't really want to run up against the clock just because you want to get set, have your play, be able to see what's going on," Williams said. "Cairo and them ran on the field, all that. I think the confusion had the play come in a little bit later. We got to the huddle trying to scramble. I end up miss hearing what (Brown) said. From there, it went downhill. This an incomplete pass on a play that I didn't necessarily want to run.
"You obviously aren't going to try to use another timeout because you know the game is going to be close at the end of the game. We already used one. You have to get up there really fast, make a few checks, get the ball snapped. It still is a matchup league. Go to your best matchup guys. Right then and there, I went to Keenan and we just missed."
Williams went 32-of-47 for 340 yards and two touchdowns Sunday as the Bears produced 398 yards in Brown's second game as Chicago's offensive coordinator.
But the Bears lamented that missed opportunity in the third quarter in another game they lost on the final play.
Eberflus fell to 14-31 over three seasons in Chicago. He has a 5-18 record in one-score games, the worst mark of any active NFL coach.
Chris Emma covers the Bears, Chicago's sports scene and more for 670TheScore.com. Follow him on Twitter @CEmma670.
