Bears coach Matt Eberflus is under renewed pressure after the offense faltered and the defense suffered a loss to the Commanders

The Bears have the same old problems with coach Matt Eberflus.

With a strong roster and a brilliant rookie quarterback, one of the Bears' biggest concerns this season was whether Eberflus could prove to be more than just a defensive strategist. About halfway through the season, that question hasn't gone away.

The heat is on him again after the Bears' 18-15 loss to the Commanders on Sunday dropped his record to 14-27. The offense faltered, the defense faltered – apparently due to the Commanders' game-winning “Hail Mary” – and Eberflus gave no answers to calm anyone down.

That was the norm during his tenure. Even in good times there was skepticism.

Two main objections to the Bears' hiring of Eberflus in 2022 were that they needed an offensive guru and that Dan Quinn would be a better option if they insisted on a defensive pick. Quinn and offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury, who the Bears also passed, have the Commanders 6-2.

Eberflus' reluctance to get involved in the offense comes to the fore again and again, and it's inexcusable that he gave the go-ahead to coordinator Shane Waldron's request to hand off to offensive lineman Doug Kramer at the goal line in the fourth quarter. Kramer's lost fumble cost the Bears a touchdown, but that's on Waldron and – ultimately – Eberflus.

“When things don't work, you work to find something else and then move on to another piece that works faster,” Eberflus said Monday. “But that’s exactly where we practiced it again.” Training was good. “We went along with it.”

The second guess is not due to the result. It was absurd to give a backup offensive lineman his first carry in a high-stakes scenario, and it was just the right time for Eberflus to step in, call a timeout and veto.

Eberflus said he agreed with Waldron's call and had not considered dismissing it. He figured the worst-case scenario would be that the Bears would get stopped and try again on fourth down.

Eberflus brought Waldron back on track after the Week 3 debacle against the Colts that once again doomed him, but Sunday signaled a step backwards. The Commanders overwhelmed quarterback Caleb Williams, keeping the Bears out of the red zone until the fourth quarter and holding them to 307 total yards, 2 of 12 on third downs and 15 points.

Eberflus later said the Bears should have thrown more at their tight ends and running backs – Cole Kmet had a target and D'Andre Swift had none – but he needs to enforce that during the game, not reinforce it after the fact.

“I’m involved in the theater production, working with the boys between series and giving them suggestions,” he said.

“Suggestions” won’t save his job. A defensive-minded head coach can certainly be fired because of a poor offense.

The Bears' defense held the Commanders well below their 31.1 points average, but brutal errors by Eberflus, cornerback Tyrique Stevenson and others led to a season-worst 481 yards allowed.

Mistakes at the end cost the Bears a lot of money. The Commanders won with a bounce when quarterback Jayden Daniels' throw skipped to wide receiver Noah Brown in the end zone, but the Bears could have narrowed the chances.

Eberflus seemed OK with giving Daniels space underneath as he moved the Commanders from their 24-yard line to their 48-yard line with two seconds left, which Quinn called “a really big deal.” Then his defense misplayed a scenario he had practiced “a hundred times” because there is no one behind the scrum who could prevent exactly what happened.

Eberflus finished the game with all three timeouts and could have easily used one of them to give his players some breathing room, not to mention realizing before the game that Stevenson was on another planet.

The contrast between Eberflus and Quinn was pronounced. Eberflus looked over his head, and that had happened far too often.

The talented cornerback apologized to his teammates for a mental error in the disastrous Hail Mary that beat the Bears on Sunday – Commanders hero Noah Brown was his responsibility. He has to find a way to play off the edge without letting it get the best of him.

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