The Chicago Bears were victorious on Thursday Night as they defeated the Carolina Panthers at Soldier Field by a final score of 16-13. With the win, Chicago bettered their chances of receiving the first overall selection in the 2024 NFL Draft with Carolina’s eighth loss this year. Additionally, with the victory, Bears’ head coach Matt Eberflus continues an impressive trend with his sixth win in two years as the head coach for Chicago.
All Of Eberflus’ Wins Have Come Against Head Coaches With Deep Playoff and Super Bowl Experience
Eberflus picked up his sixth win on Thursday night as Bears head coach, improving his record to 6-21 with seven games left in the 2023 season. The six wins for Chicago’s head coach have come against teams with head coaches who have had immense playoff and Super Bowl experience. For as bad as Eberflus’ tenure has been over the past year and a half for the Bears, it is very puzzling how the team has consistently won against proven and accredited coaches.
Last season in 2022, Chicago’s three wins came against the San Francisco 49ers, Houston Texans, and New England Patriots. The three opposing coaches in those wins for the Bears were Kyle Shanahan, Lovie Smith, and Bill Belichick, who not only had extensive playoff experience but also Super Bowl experience, as all three coaches had coached in the championship game before. Shanahan and Belichick, two of the most accomplished coaches in the league, managed to lose to Eberflus’ Bears by nine points or more.
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This season, Chicago’s three wins have come against the Washington Commanders, Las Vegas Raiders, and Carolina Panthers. Ron Rivera, Josh McDaniels, and Frank Reich are the three coaches beaten by the Bears in 2023, with McDaniels being fired a week after the Raiders’ Week 7 loss to Chicago. Rivera has a long playoff resume, including a Super Bowl appearance in 2015, while Reich oversaw Colts playoff appearances in 2018 and 2020. Although McDaniels never led the Broncos or Raiders to playoff appearances, he was a part of several Super Bowl championship seasons with Belichick and the New England Patriots.
Even crazier about Eberflus’ success is how dominant his Bears’ team has performed against the longest-tenured coaches in the NFL. Smith, Rivera, and Belichick have been coaches in the league for more than a decade at minimum, and have led their respective teams to Super Bowl appearances, but all have lost to one of the statically worst head coaches in NFL History. Even with the win over the Carolina Panthers on Thursday, if Eberflus would be fired before Chicago’s next game, he still would go down as the worst head coach in franchise history.
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Although Rivera and Belichick are the longest-tenured and most respected coaches in the league, they have suffered the most humiliating losses to Eberflus and Chicago. The Patriots’ loss to the Bears last season 33-14 during a Week 7 game in New England on Monday Night Football. Chicago’s first win this season came in Week 5 against the Commanders in a 40-20 victory. In both games, the Bears won by 19 points or more while also winning the turnover battle.
Eberflus Has Struggled Against Some Of The Worst Coaches In The NFL Also
Despite his success against accomplished head coaches, Eberflus and the Bears have struggled significantly against some of the league’s worst coaches, especially recently. Chicago’s last two losses have come against the Los Angeles Chargers and New Orleans Saints. Dennis Allen and Brandon Staley have been consistently criticized the previous two seasons due to their in-game decisions.
Fans and media members across the country have constantly called for the firing of Staley due to his poor decision-making, which has been viewed as a significant hindrance for an immensely talented Chargers’ roster. Despite the poor in-game decision-making by their head coach, Los Angeles beat Chicago handily two weeks ago on Sunday Night Football by a score of 30-13. Heading into the Week 8 matchup, there was a strong belief that had the Chargers lost, Stalely would have likely been fired the next day.
Last Sunday, Chicago lost to New Orleans by a score of 24-17 and had several opportunities to tie the game late, but the Bears’ offense had three second-half turnovers. Despite the win, Allen was harshly criticized for having the Saints’ offense try to pick up a first down on fourth down instead of going for a chip-shot field goal that would have made the game a 27-17 score late in the fourth quarter. New Orleans went for it and couldn’t convert, giving Chicago the ball again, down by just one score.
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With seven games remaining for the rest of the season, the Bears will face three teams with head coaches with playoff experience. Those teams include the Minnesota Vikings, Cleveland Browns, and Green Bay Packers, who have Kevin O’Connell, Kevin Stefanski, and Matt LaFleur. Although it is unlikely the Bears will make the playoffs this year, wins over one, if not all, of the coaches with playoff experience, may assist Eberflus in potentially keeping his job at season’s end.
The other thing that people don’t seem to remember is that when Poles took over he said that this rebuild would take at least 3 years to accomplish. This was mainly due to having an over paid defense and no draft capital to speak of.
Frankly speaking, I do not believe that M Eberflus will be fired at the seasons end and I do believe R Poles will give him the 2024 season to turn things around and be competitive. R Poles is already on record defending Eberflus and stating the 2022 season can’t be counted against Eberflus, that speaks volumes regarding any firing of Eberflus as erroneous and misleading.
By the way, we had John Fox, who was a successful coach in the past, and what did he do for us? Absolutely nothing!
Well maybe it’s the players that win or lose games, not the coaches.