Chicago Bears: Pathetic effort both by players and coaches in their latest loss

In their ninth consecutive loss, the Chicago Bears gave a pathetic effort. It wasn’t just the players, though. The coaches were just as bad.

The hits keep coming for the Chicago Bears. They took on the Detroit Lions in Week 17 trying to end their eight-game overall losing streak and their seven-game losing streak against their NFC North division rivals.

They failed miserably.

Chicago gave what was arguably their worst effort of the season. After running out to a quick 10-7 lead, the Lions completely dominated them on both sides of the ball.

On their first two drives of the game, the Chicago Bears offense had 145 total yards. That was the highlight of the game, however. On their next ten drives, they had a total of 85 yards. They did not make a first down in the second half until late in the fourth quarter.

This happened against the worst defense in the NFL.

One of the most positive aspects of this season was how head coach Matt Eberflus had his players playing hard despite all the losses piling up. Well, that did not happen against the Lions. It was an effort that could only be considered pathetic on all levels.

Aside from the first two drives, the offense looked dead on offense. Defensively, the Bears did nothing. They gave up 504 total yards of offense. They could not pressure Lions quarterback Jared Goff and could not stop the running game.

The Chicago Bears looked like they quit in the game. Goff had no pressure and could do whatever he wanted. He completed 72 percent of his passes. In fact, at one point he completed 13 straight passes.

There was a point in the third quarter when the Lions had a third and 18. They ran a simple draw play that went 38 yards. On the next play, they had another run that got them 40 yards. It only got worse from there.

Chicago Bears players weren’t the only ones with a weak effort

It wasn’t just the players who had a bad effort. The coaches were just as bad. Defensive coordinator Alan Williams didn’t make many adjustments. The Lions just kept playing a lot of the same plays and kept succeeding. Once again, there was no pressure on the quarterback. This is something that haunted the defense all season and there hasn’t been anything done to fix the problem.

On offense, it was frustrating to see that offensive coordinator Luke Getsy did not use quarterback Justin Fields‘ skillset throughout the game. Getsy kept calling Fields to just a straight drop-back instead of moving the pocket.

Fields has shown an ability to throw well when the pocket is moved. He is deadly accurate when he rolls out or when he throws on the run. Additionally, with a subpar offensive line, moving the pocket helps that unit.

By not moving the pocket or calling quick passes that have worked this season (screens, slants, etc), Fields took a beating. The Lions sacked him seven times, five of them in the first half.

The Bears completely forgot about the passing game. Fields dropped back to pass just 12 times in the second half. Six of them came on the final two drives when the game was already hopelessly out of reach.

If Getsy called more rollouts it would give Fields more time to throw, In addition, it would give him an opportunity to create magic by running the ball. He did that beautifully on the first two drives. He had 105 yards rushing after those two drives and it seemed as if he was on his way to another special game.

Fields used his legs to extend plays or he was just able to tuck the ball and just run it. The Lions had no answer for that. Then Getsy just had him drop back and try to make Fields into a pocket passer.

Yes, Fields has to become a better pocket passer. However, he doesn’t have the receivers or offensive line to help him develop that skill. The line already struggled before it lost two more linemen. Teven Jenkins, who missed last week’s game with a scary neck injury, re-injured the neck early and was out.

His replacement, Michael Schofield, also got injured and was out. With a struggling offensive line missing two pieces, trying to develop Fields’ pocket passing maybe wasn’t a good idea. All it did was risk injury. In fact, he was seen on the sideline getting treatment on his legs and hip. He was even evaluated for a possible concussion.

Yes, losing does take a toll on players. They want to get back in the win column. At some point, the losing just clobbers them in the head and they have enough. It looked like this week’s game against the Lions was the players’ breaking point. There was none of the HITS principle that Eberflus is so famous for. They didn’t play hard, had no intensity, didn’t cause turnovers or protect the ball, and weren’t playing smart football.

The Chicago Bears have one more game this season. They face the Minnesota Vikings. The Vikings are playing for the top seed in the NFC and a first-round bye so they’ll want to win. The Bears are looking to end their losing streaks and close out the season on a positive note.