Bears are clearly unhappy with the blocked field goal against the Packers and it has nothing to do with Matt Eberflus' decision-making
The Chicago Bears had another crushing game end on the final play in Week 11 after the Green Bay Packers blocked the potential game-winning kick by Cairo Santos.There's a lot to be said about that play in particular, and the plays leading up to it, but the Bears clearly aren't happy with the way it […]
The Chicago Bears had another crushing game end on the final play in Week 11 after the Green Bay Packers blocked the potential game-winning kick by Cairo Santos.
There's a lot to be said about that play in particular, and the plays leading up to it, but the Bears clearly aren't happy with the way it played out and for good reason.
On that play, the Bears' believe the Packers' defenders used leverage by pushing off of long-snapper Scott Daly to be able to block the final field goal attempt. No flags were thrown on the play and the Packers walked out of Solider Field victorious.
Here's how the NFL defines the leveraging penalty and when it should be called by the officials on the field: “A defensive player jumping or standing on a teammate or an opponent to block or attempt to block an opponent’s kick.”
While speaking with the media on Monday after reviewing the tape, Bears' head coach Matt Eberflus noted that the team believes the Packers should have been called for the penalty and the team sent that play into the league office for review.
"We had to be firmer inside," Eberflus said about the final play. "We'll turn the play in because obviously they were on our long snapper. So, we'll turn it in and see what the league says from there."
It ultimately won't mean anything in the grand scheme of things. The outcome is the outcome but the Bears are right when you watch the play back.
The worst part is, the Bears got flagged for a way less obvious leverage penalty against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 9, which then allowed the Cardinals to score a touchdown after getting awarded a first down.
You hate to see games end that way, but that outcome could have been easily avoidable for the Bears if they opted to gain more yards before the final kick, something even some of the Packers' players admitted after the game.
However, Eberflus doubled-down on his decision to run the clock down and attempt the 46-yarder, even knowing that his kicker is perfect from less than 40-yards since joining the team in 2020.
"I mean, where the conditions were and where we were in the game, I would do the same," Eberflus said on Monday. "I mean, would you like to be closer? Yeah, sure. You'd like it to be at the 15-yard line, but it was where it is. You could have done a bunch of different things there. You could have ran a pass, you could have ran an outside play, you could have ran another play that we punched it forward for two yards from the 30 to the 28. So again, if that thing breaks for a couple yards, it's definitely a positive. But that's what it is."
As for Eberflus' belief that the protection on the final kick could have been firmer, offensive lineman Braxton Jones agreed with his coach's assessment.
"When we talk about it, we all gotta be better in protection," Jones said. "You look at some of the things that happened on the play and it's unfortunate. But, you're not going to point fingers, you're not going to do any of that. We're that close to us being in here cheering still. The biggest thing is looking at the film and seeing where each player can be better in the protection. We can't really do with whatever calls should've been made or whatever it is. Just executing better."
At the end of the day, seeing how the Bears respond coming off yet another heart-breaking loss on the final play will be the only thing worth focusing on after today.
Late game decisions from Matt Eberflus continue to hold the Bears back from closing out games the team should otherwise win
Some how it keeps getting worse.
