Jim Harbaugh made Bears look even worse on Sunday Night Football
The Chicago Bears lost to the Green Bay Packers in disappointing fashion on Sunday, where a blocked game-winning field goal attempt ended a promising comeback for Caleb Williams and co.
Head coach Matt Eberflus is taking some warranted criticism for the way that he handled the process that led to the blocked kick. Williams and the offense drove down the field in a two-minute drill to get them within field goal range.
Once they were within 50 yards, Cairo Santos’ typical range, they allowed double-digit seconds to burn off the clock without attempting one more play to try and make the kick easier, and they had the timeout possible to do so. Any defense knows that blocking a kick becomes easier from farther out because they have to kick it from a lower angle to get the distance. The Packers were ready for that with Santos and they executed.
The Los Angeles Chargers were in the same situation on Sunday Night Football. Instead of letting the clock run down, they kept running plays to try and get closer. They ended up in the end zone with a game-winning touchdown run by J.K. Dobbins instead. They didn’t even need to put it in the hands of their kicker.
Who is their coach? Former Bears quarterback Jim Harbaugh, who has been connected to them as a head coach for a long time. Chicago punted on the opportunity to hire him in favor of keeping Eberflus around last offseason.
To make matters worse, the Chargers showed exactly how you defend a Hail Mary attempt, which included Harbaugh calling a timeout before the final play to make sure everyone was in place. Eberflus declined to do so in a heartbreaking Hail Mary loss to the Washington Commanders in Week 8.
It took Harbaugh just a handful of hours to show the world how it’s done in those situations. It’s heartbreaking knowing that he could have been the guy in Chicago but they said no thanks. Based on history, it is fair to assume that ownership had more to do with that situation than any football executive.
The Chargers have changed the narrative that has surrounded their team for multiple decades -- sitting at 7-3 -- and Harbaugh is a big reason for that. Coaching matters and their guy proved it this Sunday. It couldn’t have happened on a more appropriate day.
This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Jim Harbaugh made Bears look even worse on Sunday Night Football
