Bears HC Matt Eberflus takes the blame for wasted timeout vs. Colts

Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams had his long awaited first passing touchdown in the team’s 21-16 loss to the Indianapolis Colts in Week 3. The touchdown not only played out perfect — as it was caught by fellow rookie Rome Odunze — but it came when the Bears needed it most.

The Bears had a seven-minute drive down the field and Williams threw the touchdown with 8:21 remaining in the game. The score cut Chicago’s deficit to five points. Rather than kick the extra point, head coach Matt Eberflus sent the offense back on the field for the two-point attempt to cut it to a field goal game.

One issue: No one — coaches or players — really knew what was going on for Chicago.

Eberflus didn’t just call, but burned, a timeout before the Bears went for two. He explained there were communication issues between the coaches on the call.

“That’s on the coaches,” Eberflus said. “We got to be better there. From top to bottom, from [the booth] to the [field] we got to do a better job there.”

On top of the confusion from the coaches, the players also expected the field goal unit to take the field. According to ESPN’s Courtney Cronin, most players she spoke to after the game told her they were expecting the field goal unit to come out for the extra point, not to attempt the two-point conversion.

No matter how you look at it, this served as another strike against Eberflus in Year 3 as head coach of the Bears. While it’s only been three games, it’s been more of the same from Eberflus, who continues to struggle with game management, time management and communication.

This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Bears HC Matt Eberflus takes the blame for wasted timeout vs. Colts