Update: On Monday, Matt Eberflus clarified that the second run of the Bears' final offensive drive was supposed to be a halfback draw, not a Justin Fields designed run. Eberflus chalked up the error to miscommunication.
Justin Fields was clearly not feeling 100% in the second half of the the Bears 27-24 loss to the Falcons on Sunday. Instead of decisively taking off and running as he had when plays broke down earlier this month, Fields hung around behind the line of scrimmage. When he did run, Fields lacked the burst that helped him smash several QB rushing records. After seemingly every drive in the second half, Fields needed medical attention on the sidelines to treat cramps.
So when the Bears got the ball with 1:47 left in the game, down three points, it seemed as good a time as ever to put his growth as a dropback passer to the test. Instead, this was Luke Getsy’s list of play calls on what ended up being the Bears’ final possession of the game: Fields rush to the left (one-yard), Fields rush to the left (four yards), Fields pass attempt (interception). Making matters even worse, Fields hurt his left shoulder (non throwing) on the first play of the series. He was clearly in pain after the play, yet the Bears went back to the QB run on the very next snap.
Getsy has been a great playcaller all season and has shown a great feel for mixing QB runs with RB runs, play actions, bootlegs and deep shots. This was an aberration. After the game, Matt Eberflus didn’t have much to say about the sequence, other than it was the Bears’ typical two-minute operation.
“Luke’s just calling the game like he always does,” Eberflus said. “My communication to him is simple. I’m telling him what the operation of the offense is, meaning, you’re on the ball or I’m calling timeouts, so he knows. Then he rips the call.”
Eberflus said the actual evaluation of the playcalling comes later. The first look comes on the team’s plane ride home, then another look comes tomorrow morning. When they eventually run back the tape, they won’t like what they see.
Getsy has grown and evolved as a playcaller throughout the year. How to handle a similar two-minute drill moving forward may be his biggest lesson yet.
