-
Courtney Cronin, ESPN Staff Writer
CHICAGO – A month after coach Matt Eberflus was fired due to playing clock management issues against the Detroit Lions, the Chicago Bears snapped a 10-game losing streak with a 6-3 loss after a timeout issue and no game-tying field goal attempted. . To the Seattle Seahawks.
Thursday’s Seahawks-Bears matchup was one of two NFL games this season without a touchdown. Chicago totaled 179 yards of offense, the fourth-worst performance of 2024, and managed only a field goal in its final home game of the season.
Similar to the Bears’ loss to the Lions on Thanksgiving, Chicago fell behind by three entering its final drive. The Bears took possession at their own 11-yard line in the fourth quarter after all three timeouts with 5:12 left.
Chicago went six plays before being hit 4 inches from the 39-yard line when left guard Jake Kerhan, starting in place of the injured Teven Jenkins (calf), was called for a false start.
The Bears were in punt formation when interim head coach Thomas Brown took advantage of the team’s first timeout with 2:14 remaining. What appeared to be the result of confusion on the sideline was a byproduct of Brown’s decision to be more aggressive.
“It wasn’t chaos at all,” Brown said. “I just changed my mind. I think I could have used (punter) Torrey (Taylor) as a weapon. I think there was still 2:16 on the clock. There were still three timeouts, there was still a two-minute timeout. Warning, if our defense played the way it did all day, we might have a chance to turn it over and force a three-and-out, get a shorter field, and make the final game-ending drive.
“Somewhere along the way I changed my mind and said, ‘Let’s do it now,’ and sent the offense back to the turf.”
Quarterback Caleb Williams later connected with receiver DJ Moore on a fourth-and-5 play for a 14-yard gain. The Bears went one play after the two-minute warning and allowed 45 seconds to go before rookie Rome Odunze gained 15 yards on third-and-14 to bring the Bears into Seattle territory.
But Chicago was unable to advance the ball past the Seahawks’ 40-yard line, and another one-point loss would end in similarly chaotic fashion.
Williams said he was hit in the neck by Seattle’s pass rush after throwing a deep ball to Odunse. Thirty-eight seconds were added to the clock between the time the play started and Chicago’s next play for a first down.
“I don’t know if the coaches saw me there after the big game in Rome,” Williams said. “Even if I got hit in the neck or face, I just had to get up and run and hit the ball.”
The Bears eventually used a 2nd-and-10 timeout at the Seattle 40-yard line, and a frustrated Williams was seen yelling toward the sideline.
Just like against Detroit, the Bears needed a field goal to tie the game and crossed the 50-yard line with 1:05 left. Chicago missed a field goal attempt after wasting 83 seconds of game time.
Brown confirmed that kicker Cairo Santos’ kick line was between the 34 and 37 yard lines.
After reaching the Seattle 40-yard line, the Bears threw four straight passes, the last of which resulted in Williams’ first interception after throwing 353 passes without a turnover (fourth most in NFL history).
“Obviously, I think there are times when we can make better decisions and we want to make better decisions, but we haven’t executed them,” Williams said. “It’s frustrating that I don’t play this game many times, but I have to find a way.”
After the game, several Bears players described confused feelings on the sideline as Chicago used two of three timeouts without allowing the offense to move the ball any closer to field goal range.
“There were some wrinkles there,” Moore said. “There was one time when things completely broke down and I didn’t know what to do. But at the end of the day, it’s up to us to make the shots. That means we have to be ready the whole game, that’s all I can say.”
