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Fans Furious With Bears' Matt Eberflus For Following Analytics, Going For Two Early
The Chicago Bears entered the fourth quarter of their Week 12 game against the Minnesota Vikings trailing 24-10. DJ Moore scored a touchdown to cut it to 24-16 with 7:22 remaining in regulation. That's when Bears head coach Matt Eberflus decided to follow the analytics and go for two. The attempt failed and fans were furious.
Many fans took to social media to call out the embattled coach.
Great call by the Bears to go for 2 points there. Now they’re guaranteed to get it next time! @BarstoolBigCat #Analytics
— Will Compton (@_willcompton) November 24, 2024
1. Why did the Bears go for 2 there?
— Cole Douglas Claybourn (@ColeClaybourn) November 24, 2024
2. That was the most predictable outcome ever.
Why did the Bears go for 2??? Fire Eberflus and this coaching staff into the sun.
— Faizan Qurashi (@FaizanQurashi) November 24, 2024
Why...in the hell....are you going...for 2????? #Bears @WGNNews @GNSportsTV FLUS: The Gift (?) That Keep on Giving (a game to the opponent)
— Chris Boden (@BodenTweets) November 24, 2024
going for 2 might be the worst decision i’ve ever seen a bear coach make there
— Jimbo (@james_sweener) November 24, 2024
The thing is, after the Vikings kicked a field goal on the ensuing possession, the Bears scored another touchdown, went for two again and got back within three. Then they recovered an onside kick and kicked a field goal to force overtime, which meant that the decision to go for two down eight actually worked out fine for the Bears, as the analytics predicted.
So Eberflus wasn't wrong.
Of course, the Vikings went on to win the game in overtime which doesn't necessarily make Eberflus right either. The Bears are now 4-6 on the year. Maybe it doesn't matter what the coach does because there's never a reason for the fans to be happy.
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Stephen Douglas is a Senior Writer on the Breaking & Trending News Team at Sports Illustrated. He has been in journalism and media since 2008, and now casts a wide net with coverage across all sports. Stephen spent more than a decade with The Big Lead and has previously written for Uproxx and The Sporting News. He has three children, two degrees and one now unverified Twitter account.