Nobody will cheer for the Chicago Bears to lose on Sunday. That is ridiculous. Fans are eager to see this team win games after years and years of mediocre-to-terrible seasons. At 2-2, they navigated a difficult part of their schedule well enough despite some obvious issues. Now they have a chance to build some momentum against a 1-3 Carolina Panthers team that still has a lot of problems. Their defense is decimated by injuries, and they’ve already benched young quarterback Bryce Young.
On paper, the Bears have all of the advantages. Their roster is healthier; they have a top-10 defense, four legitimate weapons in the passing game, and a running back with plenty of explosiveness to create big plays. Yet nobody seems to have confidence it will be simple. Fans know how inconsistent this team has been. It isn’t hard to see them laying an egg on Sunday against what feels like an inferior opponent.
That begs the question. What happens if they do lose?
A Chicago Bears loss would give them their answer at head coach.
Never mind that it would drop them to 2-3. The fact is the Bears would have let another winnable game slip through their fingers. The odds of them getting through the second half of their schedule with six division games, the 49ers, and the Seahawks will be almost impossible. There is no question such a loss would finally force the organization to take a long, hard look at head coach Matt Eberflus. While nobody can dispute his work with the defense, he was hired to turn this into a good team.
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That can’t happen if his offenses keep underachieving like they’ve done since he arrived. His selection of Luke Getsy as offensive coordinator proved misguided two years ago. That is why he hired Shane Waldron earlier this year in hopes of correcting the problem. Instead, it’s more of the same issues. When that is the case, it is evident the problems run deeper. That falls on the head coach. He is the one responsible for elevating the roster to play its best. Eberflus hasn’t done that.
It’s his third year with the Chicago Bears. This is when a team should start winning. Losing to opponents like Carolina is no longer acceptable. If they do, the conversations about Eberflus’ future will be justified.
I doubt anyone on this site thinks the Bears can do better than a 4-4 record for the last eight games given the opponents. So to get into the playoffs, the Bears will likely need to be at 6-3 before the final stretch; thus 10-7. A 9-8 record is more likely for the Bears, but little likelihood to enter the playoffs. I think that makes the Panthers and Jaguars must win games.
Nope. The Bears will not fire Eberflus for losing to Carolina. They’ll “stay the course” and tout “continuity.”
Even if the Bears lose the next two games, it would be difficult to see them releasing Flus in midseason: perhaps some other coaches instead.
As hard as it is to imagine the Bears losing this game, we all know it could happen. How? In theory, so many ways. But the most likely way is for Caleb to have a bad or even mediocre game, which is always possible for a rookie QB. Then there would be plenty of blame and divisions to go around; not just Flus.