Tony Romo Was in Disbelief Over Bears' Baffling Clock Management to Close Lions Loss

Caleb Williams finished the Chicago's game against the Lions with 256 yards and three touchdowns.
Caleb Williams finished the Chicago's game against the Lions with 256 yards and three touchdowns. / Via CB

Tony Romo couldn't believe what he was seeing at the end of the Chicago Bears' 23-20 loss to the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving.

The Bears were marching down the field with less than a minute to go, with a chance to tie or take the lead. With 36 seconds remaining, Chicago faced second-and-20 at Detroit's 35-yard line. Quarterback Caleb Williams dropped back and was quickly sacked by Za'Darius Smith for a six-yard loss. Chaos ensued.

Rather than use their timeout to stop the clock, the Bears attempted to line up and run a play. It took an eternity to get everyone in their correct position and Williams didn't snap the ball until there were six seconds left on the clock. What should have been a quick throw to set up a field goal attempt turned out to be the last play of the game.

Romo couldn't believe how long it took for the Bears to snap the ball, or the fact that head coach Matt Eberflus didn't call timeout after Williams was sacked. Had he called timeout, Chicago would have had more than 30 seconds left to make something happen.

Here's his full reaction:

The sequence ruined what was a great comeback by the Bears. They trailed 23-7 late in the third quarter, but Williams was brilliant in the second half to get them in position to win, throwing three touchdowns while showing poise, accuracy and grit.

Williams surely wishes he could have that last play back, but the coaching staff let him down at the end.

Romo couldn't believe it.


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Ryan Phillips
RYAN PHILLIPS

Ryan Phillips is a senior writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has worked in digital media since 2009, spending eight years at The Big Lead before joining SI in 2024. Phillips also co-hosts The Assembly Call Podcast about Indiana Hoosiers basketball and previously worked at Bleacher Report. He is a proud San Diego native and a graduate of Indiana University’s journalism program.