The Chicago Bears struggled mightily in the fourth quarter last season, and new reports have revealed a possible explanation.
According to Erik Lambert of Sports Mockery, Bears head coach Matt Eberflus had little confidence in quarterback Justin Field’s decision-making last season, prompting Eberflus to call plays in a unusual fashion during the fourth quarter.
“There were rumors in and around the (Bears) building that Eberflus’ decision-making in the fourth quarter was because he didn’t have any confidence in Fields as a passer,” Lambert said.
For his report, Lambert drew inspiration from another article by Bill Zimmerman of Windy City Gridiron, who even more details about the Eberflus-Fields tension.
“There are a lot of people around the team (media and non-media) who believe that a lot of Eberflus’ questionable decisions were made because he didn’t trust Justin Fields to do the right thing with the ball,” Zimmerman said.
“On a 3rd-and-6 from 30 yards out, Eberflus was more comfortable running the ball and settling for a field goal than risking a turnover on a pass or a bad sack that puts them out of field goal range.”
“If that’s the case, we should see a big improvement in his decision-making in the fourth quarter with a different quarterback under center. If we’re still seeing conservative decisions because the Bears have a rookie quarterback, at some point you just have to believe people when they show you who they are. At this point, it would be safe to say that Eberflus is a typical conservative defensive coach.”
Things already look different with the 2024 Bears, and rookie quarterback Caleb Williams is a big reason why. Will the Eberflus-Williams combination yield more fruitful fourth-quarter results for Chicago this season?
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