The Chicago Bears cost themselves at least a chance at overtime on Sunday against the Detroit Lions with some abysmal clock management.
The Bears were trailing 23-20 in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game at Ford Field in Detroit, but appeared to be in very good position to at least force overtime. A pass interference call against Lions defensive back Kindle Vildor set the Bears up at the Detroit 25-yard line with 46 seconds to go and two timeouts in their back pocket.
What followed was one of the most disastrous sequences any team has put together all season. The Bears used their second timeout due to some confusion at the line following a first down incompletion, but still had the ball at the Lions’ 25-yard line with 43 seconds on the clock and one timeout to go. On the ensuing play, they fell victim to a self-inflicted error, as an illegal hands to the face penalty backed them up 10 yards.
On 2nd-and-20 from the Detroit 35, quarterback Caleb Williams took a sack, setting up a 3rd-and-26 from the Lions’ 41. What followed was pure chaos. The Bears were woefully disorganized, and Williams did not get the team to the line of scrimmage until there were about ten seconds left. He waited several more seconds for the snap, which finally came with six seconds left. Williams opted for a deep throw to Rome Odunze which fell incomplete after time expired, depriving the Bears of the chance to even try for a game-tying kick. All of it happened with the Bears still holding one more timeout in their back pocket.