Are coaching changes needed in Chicago after the Bears’ Hail Mary loss?

National Football League

Published Oct. 28, 2024 7:56 p.m. ET

A change-up in Chicago may be on the horizon after the team’s 18-15 loss to the Washington Commanders on Sunday.

The successful Hail Mary heard ’round the world delivered by Washington rookie Jayden Daniels in a showdown with the Bears was just the icing on the cake of a matchup FOX Sports’ Colin Cowherd called “the worst coaching” he’s seen by an NFL team in years.

On Monday’s episode of The Herd, Cowherd began with a call to action for the Bears franchise, saying, “I’m not somebody that says, ‘you know, this coach needs to be fired or get rid of this staff.’ I’ll make an exception today. Multiple people probably need to lose their job.”

Cowherd then went on to specifically call out the coaching staff’s decisions.

“What I saw in the second half may have been the worst coaching I have seen by an NFL team over the course of a half, in years,” Cowherd began.

“I mean number one, handing the ball to a backup center. You’ve got good running backs, you’ve got good tight ends, you’ve got good wide receivers. Handing the ball to a backup center … You’d had one big run, but that was the best drive of the day to that point, and that’s your play? Off of a bye? That’s the play. That’s your clever play. That’s non-negotiable. You can’t do that.”

The failed scoring play for the Bears came in the fourth quarter after they drove the ball down to the 1-yard line while trailing 12-7. The next play call was a handoff to offensive lineman Doug Kramer, who fumbled the ball, turning it back over to the Commanders.

While Cowherd was in disbelief at the Bears’ lack of use of their vast offensive weapons, he was even more baffled by cornerback Tyrique Stevenson‘s decision to taunt the Commanders fans ahead of the final play, as well as the team’s overall coverage choices in the final moments.

“On the Hail Mary, you got one of your defensive players jawing with fans as the ball’s in play … There’s also the fact that you have a linebacker on that play spying on Jayden Daniels instead of deep, as if Jayden Daniels is going to peel off a 52-yard touchdown run. What are you doing?”

With the final seconds of the game ticking down, Daniels scrambled and heaved a pass from the Washington 35-yard line. The ball was tipped by Zach Ertz just short of the goal line and fell into the arms of Noah Brown for the go-ahead score.

The Hail Mary pass was Daniels’ only touchdown on the day, but the star delivered a stellar all-around performance, going 21-of-38 for 326 yards with zero interceptions.

On the other side of the ball, fellow rookie QB Caleb Williams did not have his best showing on Sunday, going 10-for-24 passing for 131 yards with no touchdowns. But he was not a major concern for The Herd host compared to other glaring issues.

“Caleb Williams was bad in the first half, better in the second, but didn’t play well. What you saw yesterday is two young ascending teams, and two tremendously good quarterbacks,” Cowherd said.

Cowherd believes Daniels has got a “support system” in Washington, both on the field and off, and things are trending upward for the 23-year-old. However, his assessment of Williams’ future was a bit different, comparing the Heisman Trophy winner’s current situation to former Colts quarterback Andrew Luck.

“Jayden Daniels, that’s going to work. He’s got a support system. [Kliff] Kingsbury, Terry McLaurin, Dan Quinn, new owner … it kind of feels like it’s not only going to work, it’s working now,” Cowherd said.

“Caleb is starting to feel a lot like Andrew Luck, where you’re like, you may need to clean house because this kid’s going to get hurt. But that was just unforgivable nonsense yesterday … I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Over at FS1’s The Facility on Monday, co-host and former NFL quarterback Chase Daniel also had a few thoughts on the Bears’ play-calling.

When speaking about the biggest story that came out of the NFC matchup, Daniel replied to his co-hosts — Emmanuel Acho, LeSean McCoy and James Jones — “it was the play before the Hail Mary and the Hail Mary.”

Daniel explained, “You have six seconds left. You are currently at your 35-yard line. There’s no quarterback in the NFL that can make an 80-yard throw to the end zone.”

“Matt Eberflus has everyone back at like 30 yards. They steal an easy 13 yards. This is the play that stood out for me, not the Hail Mary.”

On the play in question, Daniels connected with McLaurin on a quick pass to move Washington to its own 48-yard line, setting up the Hail Mary.

“Why are you so far off the ball?” Daniel said with confusion. “And, Matt Eberflus goes as far to even say, ‘this is what we wanted to do.’ You wanted to give them 13 yards to get to the 48, so Jayden Daniels could throw it then 70 yards, and then you give it up? This was a huge play to me!”

It’s safe to say both Cowherd and Daniel agree that a change is needed in the way the (4-3) Bears approach end-of-game scenarios, but are bigger changes ahead for the fourth-place NFC South team? It could depend on how the Bears finish out the season.

Chicago will next visit the (4-4) Cardinals, who are fresh off of a 28-27 win against the Miami Dolphins.

Meanwhile, the Commanders will take on the struggling (2-5) New York Giants on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET on FOX.

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