Bears have golden opportunity to show they haven't checked out

Asked what he wanted to see from the Bears’ defense in the final two games of a disappointing season, defensive coordinator Eric Washington’s first response said it all.

“I want us to not have self-inflicted situations,” Washington said, later expounding, “Just making sure that we stay out of our way; the execution is flawless; that we don’t have issues with pre-snap. We saw that play out last week on the fourth-down-and-one.”

Washington was referring to defensive end Austin Booker jumping the snap for a neutral zone infraction on a fourth-and-one with 2:02 left in the first half that gave the Lions a first down. Four plays later, Jared Goff threw an eight-yard touchdown pass to Amon-Ra St. Brown to give the Lions a 27-7 lead.

A rookie mistake perhaps, but also the fourth time the Bears have had a neutral zone infraction on fourth down that has extended an opponent’s drive — Daniel Hardy (vs. the Colts), Byron Cowart (vs. the Packers) and Darrell Taylor (vs. the Lions) were the other guilty parties.

That lack of focus is one of several attention-to-detail issues the Bears have had throughout this season that should have been instilled in training camp. It’s one of many signs of a poorly coached team — or perhaps a mix of players that just can’t be coached. Who knows?

That’s an issue for general manager Ryan Poles — or president Kevin Warren — to address after the season. The nine-game losing streak that led to the firing of offensive coordinator Shane Waldron and head coach Matt Eberflus has been marked by repeated errors.

A week after the Hail Mary debacle against the Commanders, the Bears allowed a 53-yard run in the final seconds of the first half in a 29-9 loss to the Cardinals the following week.

After a listless second half in that game, the Bears vowed to re-double their effort — and were just as listless in a dreadful 19-3 loss to the Patriots.

After Cairo Santos’ potential game-winning field goal on the final play against the Packers was blocked, the Bears’ very next field goal attempt — against the Vikings the following week — also was blocked. You can’t make this stuff up.

Not even an in-season coaching change — the ultimate wake-up call — has sparked this team. The Bears have fallen behind 24-0, 13-0 and 20-0 in three games since Thomas Brown replaced Eberflus. It’s like Eberflus never left.

Penalties were part of the discipline issues under Eberflus — 22 in his last three games. But after a one-game respite — the Bears had just two penalties (though for 30 yards) against the 49ers in Brown’s debut as interim coach — the Bears committed nine penalties against the Vikings and 10 last week against the Lions.

The Bears are playing like a team that has checked out. Their defense has allowed 31 points and 422.6 yards per game in the last five games. The offense’s last 10 touchdowns have been scored when the Bears have been trailing by 20, 20, 21, 25, 24, 16, 10, 16, 11, and 14 points. It’s like they can only produce against a defense that relaxes a bit with a big lead.

“I wouldn’t say they’re relaxing,” interim offensive coordinator Chris Beatty said. “Last week it was turnovers that got us behind. The previous two weeks, there were some adjustments that we needed to make faster.”

There’s always something — another symptom of a team that literally can’t win. So the bar has been lowered yet again for Thursday night’s game against the Seahawks at Soldier Field. Just show some signs of life. Show some kind of spark that gives Bears fans an indication that Caleb Williams isn’t the only hope for 2025. The Bears haven’t done that since — gulp! — Matt Eberflus was their coach.