Matt Eberflus protesting Packers blocked FG is as 'little brother' as it gets for Bears

The Chicago Bears have been impressive during the 2024 season — just not in the way that fans hoped. Instead, they’ve been impressive in their ability to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. 

The Bears went into their bye week with a 4-2 record, but they emerged from hibernation to lose four consecutive games. During that span, the team collapsed in all three phases of the game. The offense, defense and special teams unit have all taken turns finding ways to ensure that Chicago doesn’t experience the joys of winning. 

During the final moments of their Week 11 matchup, Chicago appeared to be on the precipice of ending their 10-game losing streak against the Green Bay Packers. 

The Bears trailed 20-19 when they began their final drive with just under three minutes remaining on the clock. Two consecutive sacks forced them into a third-and-19, but a fourth-down conversion kept the drive alive and allowed Chicago to drive into scoring position. 

Then, Bears kicker Cairo Santos saw his game-winning 46-yard field goal get denied by a game-sealing block.

Matt Eberflus blames officiating instead of himself for late-game blunder

Bears head coach Matt Eberflus told reporters that the team would turn in the game-losing play to the league office because the Packers “were on our long snapper,” according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. 

The embattled head coach felt that a penalty was deserved, but no flag was thrown on the play.

While the NCAA has strict rules in place to protect long snappers, the NFL does not provide a set period of time after the snap before the defense can engage with the long snapper. Still, the long snapper must remain uncovered on a field goal attempt in accordance with Rule 9, Section 1, Article 3, Item 2 of the NFL Rulebook. 

The rule states that during a field goal attempt, “[a defensive player], who is within one yard of the line of scrimmage, must have his entire body outside the snapper’s shoulder pads” and “cannot push teammates into the offensive formation.”

In other words, no defensive player is allowed to line up directly in front of the long snapper when the offense is in a kick formation. Defensive players are also prohibited from jumping on the long snapper in an effort to block a kick. 

With 35 seconds remaining and a timeout still available, Eberflus could have elected to gain more yards to make the field goal attempt easier. Instead, the Bears chewed down the time and elected to go for the longer attempt. To drive it through the uprights from that distance, Santos had to kick the ball at a lower trajectory, which opened up the potential for a defensive player to get a hand on it.

Regardless of whether or not there was a penalty on the play, the late-game blunders have become commonplace for the Bears. After all, Chicago’s four-game losing streak began when they allowed a game-winning Hail Mary against the Washington Commanders in Week 8.

Ultimately, the responsibility for that falls on the coaching staff. If those two game-deciding plays had been well-coached and properly executed, the Bears would be vying for a playoff spot with a 6-4 record. Instead, they are 4-6, and Eberflus is coaching for his job.

The Bears have now lost 11 consecutive games to the Packers, but they’ll get another chance to end that streak at Lambeau Field in Week 18.