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What on the earth are we imagined to make of this one, this newest embarrassment for the Chicago Bears, a team-record ninth straight loss that entered Sunday as a loss? 41-10 drubbing by the Detroit Lions?
“I do not know, man,” Bears middle Sam Mustifer mentioned within the battered guests’ locker room at Ford Discipline. “Actually, it was simply an ass. Disappointing for certain.”
This wasn’t only a kick within the ass, although. It was the bears enjoying Scoot Farkus in A Christmas Story proper when Ralphie put a snowball as much as the glasses and blew the fuse.
With little warning, the Bears endured a seemingly infinite barrage of hits, proper on the kisser and unassisted.
The 504 yards they gave up have been essentially the most a Bears protection has allowed in a four-quarter recreation since Week 16 of 2013 at Philadelphia. The architect of the present protection, Matt Eberfluss, was not comfortable to go away the stadium and can doubtless be much more disenchanted when he critiques the video of all his staff’s flagrant violations of his HITTER precept.
Eberflus may have no prepared means to spoil it. He’ll be hard-pressed to search out a lot pleasure, depth or situational intelligence.
“It would not sit properly,” Eberfluss mentioned.
And the Bears’ abysmal exhibiting on offense, which produced simply 9 first downs and 10 factors in opposition to the league’s worst protection. It was fairly disheartening, too, because the Bears had an equal variety of fumbles, sacks allowed and completions. (That quantity was seven for these questioning how far their jaw ought to drop.)
Think about this essentially the most troubling offensive show in a bumpy season.
“It is actually disappointing,” mentioned Cole Kmet, the one Bears participant to succeed in the top zone within the staff’s thirteenth loss. “It is laborious to not be disenchanted. At each stage I’ve ever performed, I have been a winner. I wish to win. It is not going away.”
The Bears got here proper down the sector with the opening possession. 9 performs, 75 yards, landing. It regarded good. It felt good.
On a gadget quick duck play the Bears had been hoping to get for weeks, Kmet discovered himself beneath middle on third-and-1 for an obvious layup. As a substitute, he took a snap and made a cross within the backfield to quarterback Justin Fields. Fields turned that right into a 31-yard achieve as a part of the primary quarter, when he ran for 105 of his 132 yards.
“It is enjoyable simply to faux after which watch Justin run,” Kmet mentioned.
Fields returned the favor three performs later, hitting Kmet for a 13-yard landing to place the Bears up 7-0.
“Anytime you exit like that, you rating the opener and actually get it shifting, you actually assume you are going to have success going ahead.”
From there, although, the Bears went 344 yards and 41-3 over the ultimate 55 minutes and 54 seconds. Their embarrassing moments appeared to triple their huge recreation.
Issues have been wanting up early within the second half because the Bears have been down by two and wanted quite a bit to go proper to begin a rally. However on the Lions’ first possession of the third quarter, the Bears pressured them to punt on a third-and-18 nook inside their very own 20.
That is when D’Andre Swift made a 35-yard draw, linebacker Joe Thomas Velcroed a block, Dominique Robinson and Nick Morrow missed tackles and no person within the secondary helped them.
“Missed battles,” mentioned Eberfluss. “One in every of our defensive linemen missed. (Swift) bought out of it after which our nook misplaced leverage and our security misplaced leverage.”
On the subsequent play, rookie working again Jameson Williams scampered for 40 yards and the Lions capped the drive with a 2-yard landing run by Jamaal Williams.
Story of the day, proper?
Swift had two touchdowns, a 17-yard run within the second quarter and a 21-yard reception within the third. He was not touched both, and was hardly disturbed.
Lions quarterback Jared Goff, in the meantime, was decisive and environment friendly, finishing 21 of 21 passes for 255 yards with three touchdowns and a 133.5 passer score.
On its first seven collection, the Bears protection gave up 5 touchdowns and a subject purpose.
The pitching and offense weren’t a lot better. Coming into Sunday, no NFL staff had allowed extra factors or extra yards than the Lions. When the sport was inside and the Bears offense was as wholesome because it has been in weeks; with receivers Chase Claypool, Equanimus St. Brown and Dante Pettis and offensive linemen Cody Whitehair and Taven Jenkins all obtainable to play, it appeared all set. productive day.
As a substitute, the league’s worst passing assault had its worst outing of an abysmal season with simply 30 internet yards. Fields accomplished simply 7 of 21 passes for 75 yards. He fumbled within the second quarter when he tried to interrupt out on a run, however caught the ball together with his proper hand.
And on the ultimate play of the primary half, he intercepted Aidan Hutchinson on a play that appeared fully out of whack because the Bears tried to squeeze one thing out of possession that began on the Lions 45 with 7 seconds left.
It was only one shot in a collage of ugliness. The offensive line was shaky all day. Fields did not appear to sit down as properly within the pocket. And in a single lengthy, excruciating, loopy stretch, the Bears went 9 straight possessions with out producing a number of first downs.
Jenkins misplaced one other neck damage on the primary drive. The Bears broad receiver mixed for 3 catches and 36 yards. Operating backs David Montgomery and Khalil Herbert mixed for 55 runs on simply 11 makes an attempt.
On the finish of the afternoon, the Bears had quite a bit to construct on and much more to scrub up. That course of will embody efforts to calm Claypool, who had extra fumbles (one) than receptions.
The veteran receiver, pissed off by the offense’s struggles, was clearly upset with the Bears’ bench.
“It is good to have emotion within the recreation,” Fields mentioned. “However you simply need to know easy methods to management it. And you may’t let it go like that. As a result of ultimately, it would not assist anybody.”
Fields tried to strike a gentle and centered tone as he labored by means of the continued ineptitude of a passing assault that has been held beneath 100 yards 4 instances this season whereas surpassing 200 yards simply as soon as.
Sunday’s struggles have been highlighted.
“This isn’t going to kill me inside,” Fields mentioned. “It’s clear. You be taught from errors and change into higher from them. I’m not the kind of particular person to (sigh) over this and that. I am not that sort of particular person mentally, mentally. I’ve had laborious instances up to now. My solely reply is to maintain working, hold getting higher, continue to learn, continue to grow.”
For essentially the most half, Bears gamers appeared extra fired up than accepting Sunday’s setbacks, realizing the embarrassment they suffered.
“Everyone has to look themselves within the eye and determine how they wish to end this season,” Morro mentioned. “For those who’re an individual who needs to complete and attempt to compete, then you’ll compete. If not, you’ll lie down.”
However that solely goes up to now. And with one week remaining in a last-place season that has baffled a big portion of the fan base, the Bears seem to have much more to fret about than to be assured about.
In 103 seasons, no Bears staff has misplaced extra typically or gone longer and not using a win. To dismiss it as trivial or insignificant for long-term targets could be silly.
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