Just a moment before we go through the locker room theatrics that went on until Matt Eberflus was sacked. Do you remember that the Bears were on a three-game winning streak until week 6? Yeah, that seems like a distant memory, considering the six-game losing streak they have now found themselves in. After yet another heartbreaking loss this week, the Bears’ management broke their century-old franchise record and sent Eberflus packing out of Chicago.

But did he really lose the job because of mismanagement in the Lions debacle? Well, The Athletic’s NFL insiders, Dianna Russini and Adam Jahns, don’t think so. They believe Eberflus lost the locker room when their losing streak started with a Hail Mary from Caleb Williams’ draft class, Jayden Daniels. His 52-yard TD pass to Noah Brown started unraveling Eberflus’ questionable decision-making. Although Bears CB Tyrique Stevenson was blamed for his positioning that tipped Daniels’ pass to the hands of Brown, there were gaps elsewhere.

Before that Hail Mary, Eberflus could have called for timeout when Daniels completed a 13-yard pass to his receiver Terry McLaurin. This would have been huge to calm down his defense and get the players’ heads back into the game. But when post-game pressers came, Eberflus ended up downplaying the importance of that pass. Well, Eberflus also didn’t take the blame for not calling the timeout, which could have made the difference.

So one of the players apparently came out saying, “That didn’t sit well in the locker room.” “It didn’t go over right. That week is when he lost the defensive guys,” another unnamed player added. Although he did start taking the blame when the Bears losing streak kept on expanding, the damage was already done. His team never saw him the way they used to, “As a leader of men. You’re supposed to take blame for everything that happens under your watch,” as per a Bears player.

Well, his team outright refused to take the blame after Eberflus yet again forgot to take a timeout this season. Their comments post-game showed Eberflus’ sack was only hours away from official confirmation.

Bears players deserted Matt Eberflus after the loss to the Lions on Thanksgiving

When it finally looked like the Bears were on their way to snap their losing streak in Detroit. They were instead met with a crushing defeat as their second-half heroics boiled down to mistimed calls. Having the option to call timeout and probably force overtime with a field goal. The Bears decided to woof the football away in hopes of securing a final second pass. Although many questioned Caleb Williams’ awareness of the clock running down, he instead put the blame on Eberflus. Sharing his thoughts post-game, Williams explained, “Living with the call and letting coaches make that decision. I don’t have a microphone to speak to coach or anything like that.”

Well, their receiver, D.J. Moore, whose final TD helped the Bears narrow the gap to 3 points, was also bemused when they didn’t call for a timeout, “I don’t know why we didn’t take a timeout.” Even Keenan Allen, who scored two TDs from Williams’ passes, directed the blame on the coaching staff, “I think we as players did enough to win.”

And they weren’t the only ones as TE Cole Kmet was left speechless, “Honestly, I don’t even know.” Even the mood in the locker room was not great either, as one of the players added, “The locker room was ugly.” Now, after going through all the things that happened behind the scenes in the Bears squad. It doesn’t really surprise us to see them pulling the plug on Matt Eberflus. But this decision should have been made much earlier. Because the Bears are now seemingly out of the playoff picture after the Lions’ heartbreak.