Bears head coach Matt Eberflus and offensive coordinator Luke Getsy were provided a harsh reality check after Chicago fell to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium on Sunday.
With the Bears trailing the Buccaneers 20-17 and with 2:24 left in regulation, the offense took the field hoping quarterback Justin Fields would be able to lead Chicago on a game-winning drive. Instead, Bears wideout Chase Claypool committed an offensive pass interference penalty on the second play of the possession before Fields threw a pick-six with Buccaneers’ Shaq Barrett sniffing out the screen pass.
Tampa Bay linebacker Lavonte David explained why the defensive play was so easy for Barrett and the Bucs: Because the Bears ran the same play one snap prior.
“Big play, big play,” David told reporters after Tampa Bay’s 27-17 victory, per FOX Sports’ Greg Auman. “They called a screen. It was the same formation, everybody knew what was coming.”
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The Bears ran an identical screen pass to Khalil Herbert on the play Claypool was whistled for offensive pass interference. On the next play, Barrett intercepted Fields’ lob throw to Herbert at the Chicago 4-yard line and pushed across the goal line to give the Buccaneers a 27-17 advantage.
ESPN NFL analyst Dan Orlovsky pointed it out Monday morning while rewatching the film.
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It marked a second embarrassing loss for the Bears this season, after a lopsided defeat against Jordan Love’s Green Bay Packers in the season opener. FanDuel Sportsbook has the Bears -1500 to miss the NFL playoffs as of Monday afternoon. And it won’t get any easier for the Bears, who have a Week 3 matchup against Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs.
Featured image via Kim Klement Neitzel/USA TODAY Sports Images
