DETROIT – The Bears lost to the Detroit Lions by three points, with the game ending right on the cusp of field goal range, leaving a down and a timeout in their pocket.

Wrap you brain around that.

The final sequence of yet another furious comeback by the Bears fell short in yet another astonishing way. We’ve got the blocked field goal against Green Bay. The overtime loss to Minnesota. Their first turn around the NFC North ended with a colossal blunder in game management.

RELATED CONTENT:

• Instant analysis: Breaking down Bears performance in Thanksgiving loss to Detroit

The timeout left unused was the most head scratching aspect to it. How did that happen? What went so horribly wrong?

Let’s let head coach Matt Eberflus explain what he was thinking.

First, we’ll set the stage.

The Bears were down 23-20 late in the fourth quarter, needing a field goal to tie and a touchdown to win it. The drive started on the Chicago 1-yard line with 3 minutes, 30 second remaining, and quarterback Caleb Williams worked Chicago into striking distance. A series of penalties moved the ball into and out of field goal range.

Williams throws incomplete on first-and-10 from the Detroit 25. Matt Eberlfus calls a timeout with 43 seconds left. Then Williams completes a pass to Keenan Allen negated by penalty that also cost 10 yards.

Then Williams got sacked on second down with 36 seconds left, and the clock kept running and running and running until Williams had to change the play knowing they could only get one play off. It feel incomplete as time expired.

Does that make sense? Agreed. It does not.

Eberflus explains his orginal logic this way: “We were outside of field goal range so we needed to get a few more yards in there, as close as we can get, and then we were going to call a timeout, and that’s why we held that last timeout at the end of the game.”

All that sounds sound.

How things transpired required a change of plan after Williams got sacked and the clock continued to run.

“So, we’re at 36 seconds right there and our hope was, because it was third going into fourth, that we would re-rack that play at 18 seconds, throw it inbounds, get it in field goal range and then call a timeout,” Eberflus said in his postgame press conference. “And that’s where it was and that was our decision-making process on that.”

The Bears took a long time to get lined up and time whittled well below 18 seconds. Eberflus did not call a timeout.

“We liked the play that we had and we were hoping that he was going to call it, or get the ball snapped and then we would’ve called timeout right there,” Eberflus said. “Once it’s under seven (seconds) there, if you call timeout there, you’re basically throwing the ball to the end zone. Because, once it’s under 12 (seconds), you can’t throw it inside with no timeout. And it was third-down going into fourth down, so that’s the big deal. It was third going into fourth that’s why we wanted to preserve the timeout.”

Williams saw the time dwindling as well, and he changed the play once he realized there wasn’t enough time to run two. While the original call was designed to work the middle of the field, Williams called for a deep shot outside to Rome Odunze that fell incomplete.

So if the plan was to snap it at 18 seconds, why not call a timeout then to preserve the use of both downs?

“Yeah, you’re ticking it down there,” Eberflus said. “So, (at 18 seconds left) then down there right there, then once it gets under 12 you have to hold onto it then.”

Any player has an ability to call a timeout, and Williams didn’t despite it taking time to get lined up right and make pre-snap adjustments. He knew the clock was dropping fast, hence his change of play. He didn’t.

“In that situation, I’m living with the call and I let the coaches and everybody make that decision depending on whether it’s time, depending on whether it’s the guys running back and they’re far down the field,” Williams said. “Whatever that situation is, that’s going to be (Bears Head) Coach (Matt Eberflus)’s call. Maybe in the latter years of my career, but right now, I get the call, I’m trying to lead the guys to win and I’m trying to get everybody lined up and from there I’m trying to make a play for the Chicago Bears.”

The disastrous finish, to run one toss-up pass play in the last 36 seconds of regulation so close field-goal range and the end zone, has drawn ire from a fan base looking for someone to blame.

Eberflus took it on Thursday night, after being asked how much blame he takes for the loss.

“Well, I’m the head football coach so I’m taking the blame, of course,” he said. “That’s what you do. So, we didn’t get it done, it starts at the top and it starts right here. So, accountability is right here with me and again, we just have to do it better and I have to do it better, and I was proud of the guys with the way they fought, and they did a good job putting themselves in position.”