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Head coach Matt Eberflus of the Chicago Bears.

THE Chicago Bear I probably should have beaten the Green Bay Packers at Soldier Field in Week 11 and head coach Matt Eberflus That’s probably at least part of the reason they didn’t.

Chicago fell to Green Bay by a score of 20-19, losing its 11th straight game to the NFC North division rival whose Bears’ number dated back to the last decade.

But on Sunday, Nov. 17, the Bears were a 46-yard field goal away from erasing that streak of ineptitude after a superb two-minute quarterback-driven drive. Caleb Williamsin which he made several big plays, including a fourth-down conversion as a rookie. Rome Odunze on a beautiful back shoulder throw that kept Chicago’s chances alive.

The Bears got within field goal range, but could have taken the ball back with about 20 seconds left on the clock and executed a play to both gain more yards and position the ball where the kicker was. Cairo Santos is most comfortable with this. Tom Bradywho was on the call Sunday, suggested that was what the team should do and noted what he saw as perhaps a lack of communication between the sideline and the players on the field.

Ultimately, Chicago ran the clock down to just a few seconds and lined up for the kick, which the Packers defender Karl Brooks blocked with his fingertips, winning the game for Green Bay. After the loss, Eberflus defended his choice not to run another play before the field goal attempt.

“We felt good about where the kick line was,” Eberflus said. “The wind wasn’t a factor today, and Cairo made several of those kicks in that range. We’re confident in Cairo and confident in our operation there.

Criticism of Matt Eberflus for his missed kick may not be entirely fair

GettyHead coach Matt Eberflus of the Chicago Bears.

To be fair to Eberflus, criticizing his decision at this time is very much playing the role of Monday morning quarterback.

Chicago probably only gains a few yards on another running play before snapping it a second time and punting the ball to stop the clock and prepare for the kick. It also would have created three more opportunities for something to go wrong — like a fumble, perhaps — on both snaps and the running play in between.

If the Bears had decided to play and turned the ball over or lost yards, Eberflus would have been blamed as well.

“You could say you could do it for sure, maybe gain a few more yards, but you’re also going to risk some fumbles and different things there,” Eberflus continued. “I felt very confident where we were at that point with the wind and where we were on the field.”

Cairo Santos had a low trajectory on the kick, leading to a second guess at Matt Eberflus’ decision-making late in the match

GettyKicker Cairo Santos of the Chicago Bears.

That said, the trajectory of Santos’ kick was a bit low, perhaps because he was concerned about having enough foot on the ball to carry it the nearly 50 yards he needed to make his attempt successful . A few yards closer and maybe the kick has a higher arc, and maybe Brooks isn’t able to get his hands on the ball and the Bears come out on top.

Unfortunately for Eberflus, at this point, second-guessing will be part of every defeat after the Hail Mary debacle against Washington Commanders a few weeks ago.

The head coach also fired two offensive coordinators in less than a calendar year and could find himself on the chopping block if the Bears fail to turn their season around. Chicago will look to snap its four-game losing streak at Soldier Field against the Minnesota Vikings (8-2) next Sunday.

Max Dible covers the NFL, NBA and MLB for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, Chicago Bears and Cleveland Browns. He covered local and national news as a reporter for West Hawaii Today and served as news director for BigIslandNow.com and Pacific Media Group’s Big Island family of radio stations before joining Heavy. Learn more about Max Dible