Matt Eberflus Got Outcoached By Brandon Staley. That Says It All

Every time it looks like Matt Eberflus might have the Chicago Bears pointed in the right direction, games like Sunday night happen. His inability to have them ready from week to week is a glaring indictment of his tenure to this point. The Bears had lots of momentum coming out of the win over Las Vegas. The Chargers were a tougher test, but at 2-4, they aren’t exactly a team that is unbeatable. Sadly, Eberflus’ team came out flat. They committed several penalties in the first half. That, combined with a rough effort by his defense headlined by atrocious tackling, put them in a 17-0 hole.

Unsurprisingly, the Bears were never able to climb out of it. Los Angeles cruised to an easy win. Chicago drops to 2-6, meaning Eberflus now has only five wins in the past calendar year. The fact many of the losses have come from the team looking unprepared and constantly haunted by mistakes speaks to coaching problems. Eberflus talks all the time about playing smart football. His team isn’t doing that. When you can’t implement one of the core philosophies you always talk about, it’s a big concern.

When Brandon Staley outcoaches you, it’s an even bigger concern.

Matt Eberflus is in over his head.

Let’s run through the quarterbacks he has beaten so far in his career: Trey Lance, Davis Mills, Mac Jones, Sam Howell, and Brian Hoyer. He has yet to defeat a top-15 quarterback in this league. Maybe not even a top-20. Every decent QB has looked less than impressed with his defense. His unwillingness to blitz despite apparent problems with the front four speaks to how outdated his thinking is. He’s married to the scheme, unwilling to accept it isn’t working. Patrick Mahomes and Justin Herbert, two of the best in the business, had their way with him without breaking a sweat.

It is hard to imagine things will get that much better unless they somehow find a superstar pass rusher next off-season. That seems like an unreasonable demand. The truth is Matt Eberflus is the coaching equivalent of a backup. He is acceptable against other head coaches that are on his level. Yet when he runs into good ones who know what they’re doing, the results rarely favor the Bears. This defense isn’t built for the modern NFL unless you have elite talent. Eberflus has no excuses left at this point.

He’s done nothing to prove he deserves a third year.