Tuesday was filled with high praise and celebration for the Chicago Bears following their 33-14 upset victory over the New England Patriots on Monday Night Football. In a dominating win, which featured standout performances from the offense, defense, and special teams, the Bears turned in one of their best games in several years. Coming off an 11-day semi-bye, first-year head coach Matt Eberflus and offensive coordinator Luke Getsy demonstrated a coaching trait not seen in most coaches, even veteran ones.

Eberflus Had An Inferior Roster Ready For A Dangerous Opponent

A significant reason why the Bears’ upset victory was so shocking was because of where Chicago and New England were at in their respective seasons heading into their game against one another. The Bears were on a three-game losing streak that saw the team miss opportunities to potentially tie or take the lead with their final offensive possession in each loss. Chicago’s second-year quarterback Justin Fields’ play has been erratic while questions mount on whether he can become an elite quarterback.

New England, on the other hand, had won their last two games by a score of 23 points or more while dominating two of the NFL’s better offensive units in the Detroit Lions and Cleveland Browns. Additionally, Patriots fans were ecstatic with the breakout performance of third-string quarterback Bailey Zappe. All momentum before Monday Night’s game had New England winning big over Chicago, especially given Hall of Fame head coach Bill Belichick and his trusted coordinator Matt Patricia’s resume of success.

Matt Eberflus had his team READY tonight from beginning to end. Bears have always came out flat after extended breaks/bye weeks under the past few regimes.

This was impressive.

— DaWindyCity Productions (@dwcprodz) October 25, 2022

Eberflus and his coaching staff proved otherwise, putting the Bears in a position to win from start to finish as the defense had their best game of the season. Chicago’s defense forced four takeaways, including three interceptions of Zappe and starting quarterback Mac Jones. New England running back Rhamondre Stevenson, who had rushed for 237 yards in the team’s previous two games, was held to just 39 yards against the Bears.

KYLER GORDON INTERCEPTION. PILE IT ON pic.twitter.com/C0Mugo7q8i

— Barstool Chicago (@barstoolchicago) October 25, 2022

The most impressive moment for Eberflus and his defensive coaching staff was the Bears’ ability to shut down Zappe after he led the Patriots on two touchdown drives that sent Gillette Stadium into a frenzy and shifted all momentum in New England’s favor. In the second half, the Patriots backup quarterback was held to 69 passing yards and did not have one pass completion longer than 19 yards. Ebeflus and his staff made the necessary adjustments, as in the second quarter, Zappe had three pass completions of 20 yards or longer.

Eberflus’ ability to implement in-game changes and have his players execute those changes is extremely impressive, given what has transpired with other coaches that have faced the Patriots recently. In New England’s last three games against the Green Bay Packers, Detroit Lions, and Cleveland Browns, their offense scored 13 points or more in the second halves of those games. The Browns and Packers both have veteran coaching staffs that were unable to make necessary adjustments to slow the Patriots and Zappe. The Bears’ defense shut out the Patriots and only allowed two touchdowns in the second half of their games this season.

Through 7 games this season, the #Bears defense has allowed just 2 touchdowns in the second half of games.

— Zack Pearson (@Zack_Pearson) October 25, 2022

Getsy In-Game Offensive Adjustment Kept The Patriots off Balance

Monday Night’s victory was also the Bears’ best offensive performance of the season, as they scored 33 points, recorded 24 first downs, and had over 390 total yards. Fields threw a touchdown pass and ran for a touchdown as three different players rushed for over 60 yards. The Bears’ offensive success was due to Getsy making adjustments as the game went along.

I cannot give enough credit to OC Luke Getsy for his offensive game plan in last night’s game. Completely schemed to his players strengths & protected their weaknesses.

No game will ever be the same but have to feel like last night could be a sizable building block. #Bears

— Aaron Leming (@AaronLemingNFL) October 25, 2022

To begin the game, Getsy had Fields throwing downfield from a moving pocket as the second-year quarterback had a completion of 19-yard and 20-yards in each of Chicago’s first two offensive possessions resulting in points. Following adjustments made by the Patriots’ defense and the loss of starting center Lucas Patrick, Getsy adjusted the Bears’ offensive scheme that relied more on the running game, including utilizing Fields as a runner.

Most of the design run plays called for Chicago’s quarterback came from the latter part of the second quarter after the Patriots began taking away the Bears’ ability to throw downfield. Getsy switched to running the ball more with running backs Khalil Herbert and David Montgomery while working in running plays and short-passing plays with Fields. Other than a 25-yard completion to tight end Cole Kmet on a scramble, Chicago’s quarterback only attempted one pass longer than 25 yards in the second half.

#Bears QB Justin Fields put together the best performance of his young career tonight.

– 13/21 passing
– 179 passing yards
– 82 rushing yards
– 2 total TDs
– 85.2 passer rating

Build around this kid. He is the one.

— Chris Maltby (@ChrisMaltbyBD) October 25, 2022

Heading into the game, the Patriots knew that the Bears’ best offensive weapon was their ability to run the ball, as they were the second-best rushing offense in the NFL. Instead of relying heavily on the rushing attacking to begin the game, Getsy called six passing plays on the team’s first two offensive drives, none of which were screen or short yardage passes. The success of passing the ball allowed Chicago’s offense to run the ball when adjustments were needed, even with the Patriots’ defense knowing what was coming.

Former Bears’ head coach Matt Nagy, during his time as the team’s offensive play-caller from 2018 to 2021, struggled significantly with in-game play-design adjustments. One of Nagy’s most glaring weaknesses was his inability to make changes to his offensive game plan when it appeared evident that the opposing defense had it figured out. Getsy, in several games this season, has made needed in-game adjustments that have led to Chicago’s offense being able to find some success.

Eberflus was pleased with the variety w/in Luke Getsy’s play calling vs. NE: “I thought the mix and match of the in-pocket, out-of-pocket, the different protections we were using to really focus on the strengths of our football team and our offensive unit I thought was excellent.

— Courtney Cronin (@CourtneyRCronin) October 25, 2022

The win over the Patriots was a signature win for both Eberflus and Getsy, as they are the two most significant coaching figures on the Bears. Chicago’s head coach is proving to be a talented leader that can motivate his players and implement vital adjustments on defense while his offensive coordinator continues to design an offense to highlight fields’ strengths while leaning on an impressive running game. Eberlus and Getsy were able to out scheme Belichick and Patricia, both of whom have decades worth of coaching experience.