The Chicago Bears hoped that their first in-season coaching change in the franchise’s history would help stop their decline.
However, the problems go deeper than just the coach.
In their first game under interim head coach Thomas Brown, the Bears were beaten 38-13 by San Francisco, extending their losing streak to seven games.
“I believe in the people,” Brown said Monday. “I think it’s all about the guys we have in the locker room, the coaches that we have. I understand our mentality and our approach going forward. As I said at the beginning, we don’t have cowards in the locker room. We don’t have cowards in our coaching staff. Regardless of circumstance, we will come to battle every single day.”
The Bears (4-9) didn’t show much fight on Sunday in a loss that was as embarrassing as any. It meant they will finish with a losing record for the 12th time in 14 seasons.
They were outgained 319-4 in the first half, marking one of the largest yardage differences since 1991, and were down 24-0 by halftime. The team managed just one first down and punted five times in a row on their first possessions.
The Bears gave up a season-high in points and matched their second-worst total by allowing 452 yards. This loss was their biggest since a 41-10 defeat at Kansas City in Week 3 last season.
This was not the outcome they expected when they decided to fire Matt Eberflus on November 29. The decision came after the Bears had a time-management failure in a Thanksgiving game against Detroit, where they couldn’t get off a potential game-tying field goal despite having one timeout remaining. It was just another example of bad late-game decisions.
Beyond the coaching change, it’s clear that there are issues with the roster. Team president Kevin Warren said last week that Ryan Poles will stay as the general manager and lead the search for a new coach, but more losses like this may cause them to rethink that decision.
The last-place Bears’ next two games are against the top two teams in the NFC North, starting with a Monday night game at Minnesota (11-2) followed by a home game against division-leading Detroit (12-1). After that, they will face NFC West leader Seattle (8-5) and finish the season at Green Bay (9-4).
