After blowing a second double-digit lead in a loss at Cleveland, the Bears are in disbelief.
Illinois’s Lake Forest (AP) – The Chicago Bears had a 10-point advantage and were closing in on another victory as they edged closer to playoff contention.
One reason the 20-17 loss at Cleveland hurt so much was because of this. And sleeping on it for a night didn’t really make the pain go away.
According to tight end Cole Kmet, “I think it stings more,” on Monday. It felt good to know that we could take action here if you prevailed. It’s disappointing to lose there because I felt like we were kind of coming together as a team, especially since I felt like we had some momentum going into previous weeks.
The Bears blew a double-digit fourth-quarter lead for the third time in a loss, blowing the chance to win their third straight game and tie their best run since a three-game run late in 2020. Darnell Mooney fell backward and let a Hail Mary pass squirt through his hands, stopping them short.
Beyond that crucial play, Chicago has a plethora of other explanations for the defeat, including a subpar offense and some dubious coaching choices.
Even though he was facing the best defense in the NFL, Justin Fields had to perform better for the Bears (5-9). Rather, he completed 19 out of 40 passes for 166 yards, two interceptions, and a 46.5 rating.
Eddie Jackson returned an interception to the 1, setting up the offense’s lone touchdown. Counting penalties, it took eight tries for Fields to get the ball into the end zone, as he spun away from Myles Garrett before finding Kmet.
Joe Flacco picked apart a defense that had shut down Cleveland for three quarters. The former Super Bowl champion who signed with Cleveland last month threw for 374 yards, including 212 and a touchdown in the fourth.
With less than a minute remaining, Berflus exposed himself to doubts by going for it twice on fourth down instead of letting Cairo Santos try field goals and by having 309-pound Justin Jones drop back into coverage on a third-and-15 blitz. Dustin Hopkins’ game-winning field goal was made possible by Flacco’s pass to tight end David Njoku, who broke tackles and spun for a 34-yard gain to the Chicago 19.
“Really, it´s just relying on the relationships of the men and the guy next to you,” Eberflus stated. “It’s very important to us that we believe in the man standing next to you. The relationship aspect and our level of effort. The guys have a close bond. We’ll simply keep tugging.
