CHGO Digest: Bears fail Thomas Brown in interim head coach's first test

Good morning, friends!

I’ve spent a lot of time in the last three years poking fun at Matt Eberflus’ H.I.T.S principle. Perhaps I was a bit too harsh.

In Thomas Brown’s first test as interim head coach, Chicago lacked hustle, intensity and care for the ball. In other words, Brown’s Bears failed their first test.

For being given just five games to win the hearts of Chicago, it couldn’t have gone worse for the former passing game coordinator promoted to offensive coordinator elevated to interim head coach in a three-week span.

Now, over the final four weeks of the season, it only gets tougher than San Francisco: @ Minnesota next Monday night, home against Detroit, Thursday night in Chicago the day after Christmas against the NFC West-leading Seahawks and then a finale at Lambeau in Week 18.

Good luck!

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— Patrick Norton

Three thoughts after Bears’ blowout loss in Santa Clara

1. You know who probably had a pretty good night?

What Chicago thought would be turning over a new leaf turned into a collapse more head-scratching than all the games leading up to it. If there was one person who breathed a sigh of relief on Sunday, it was Matt Eberflus.

The defense looked unprepared and lost on the field, and in terms of motivation, it hardly looked like the team had any desire to spend their weekend in California after a dramatic week back home.

Ten days after word got out that Jaylon Johnson delivered a strong ‘message’ to Eberflus in the locker room after the brutal loss on Thanksgiving day, it was Johnson who pulled up at the goalline making a business decision to not pop Patrick Taylor Jr. in the fourth quarter already down 18.

Sure, Eberflus had lost the locker room, but the idea that everything would be fine again without the ex-head coach was misguided. After six straight losses, the Bears just needed somewhere to direct their anger.

After the game, Thomas Brown said, “We got our butts kicked” and Caleb Williams said, “We got our asses kicked today and there’s no way around it.” Well, at least they’re observant.

2. Where do the Bears go from here?

As the door closes on the Bears’ playoff chances, they’ve entered ‘damage control’ mode. How can you keep the players who have only experienced losing in this locker room hungry enough to want to stay? Who would’ve thought, after a 4-2 start to the season heading into the bye, pure domination in London might be Chicago’s final win of the season?

In all likelihood, if somebody had told me the Bears would lose the next seven games, I’d have assumed the sacks finally had taken their toll on Williams and the first overall pick was dealing with a serious injury. It’s borderline miraculous he isn’t. His season sack total is up to 56 after another seven on Sunday.

So, when the phrase ‘most important hire in the history of the franchise‘ is thrown out there, it’s not solely about finding the right person to pair with Williams; it’s about finding the right person to manage the personalities and egos in that locker room, too.

3. Will the Bears ever win a Sunday road game ever again?

If I shook a magic eight ball, I think it’d reply, “don’t count on it.”

I tweeted on Friday that the Bears hadn’t won a road game on a Sunday since Matt Nagy was the Bears’ head coach. “On a Sunday” is the key here. Eberflus won three road games with Chicago, but one came on a Thursday and the other two were on Monday Night Football.

Assuming you’re reading this on Monday, it’s been 1,079 days since the organization’s last Sunday win on the road – they’re 0-20 since then (0-1 under Nagy, 0-18 under Eberflus, 0-1 under Brown).

Their last Sunday road win came in Seattle on December 26, 2021. Jimmy Graham caught a touchdown from Nick Foles with a minute left and a two-point try to Damiere Byrd gave the Bears a one-point win.

Here’s the problem – the Bears only have two road games left this season and one of them is Monday Night Football in Minnesota next week. That leaves Week 18 in Green Bay, which could still be flexed to that Saturday, as the last chance to win a Sunday road game before the 2025 season.

🔎 GO DEEPER | Nicholas Moreano on the Bears’ failure to play aggressively and violently despite Thomas Brown’s message to the team during the week.

CHGO Bears Postgame

🎧 SPOTIFY | APPLE PODCASTS | Thomas Brown comes up empty in his first game as head coach

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