USA Today
Bears Bobble Another One Away
Bears coach Matt Eberflus called it a step forward for Justin Fields.
If it was, it was a step that still came up a few inches short of the goal. Again.
For the third straight week the Bears failed on a last drive at the win or tie, and this time they got within a few inches of beating the Washington Commanders but Darnell Mooney's bobbled catch at the goal line left him just short of the end zone Thursday night in a 12-7 loss at Soldier Field.
"I told the guys I was proud of them and the way they fought, the way they battled through the course of the day," coach Matt Eberflus said. "Again it's all about execution. It comes down to six or seven plays and I told the guys listen, we're right there, we're right there.
"You've got to keep believing in what we're going and how we're doing it and we're right there and we're going to get over that hump right there."
The hump they couldn't get over on Thursday was actually the goal line with three red zone trips, three inside the 10 that produced no points. As a result, they got their third straight loss to a Washington team (2-4) they outplayed in most phases.
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Fields threw a 40-yard touchdown pass to Dante Pettis for a 7-3 lead and they led 7-6 before Washington took advantage of another muffed Velus Jones Jr. punt but this one at the 6-yard line leading to Brian Robinson Jr. scoring the go-ahead points on a 1-yard run halfway through the fourth quarter.
Fields had the Bears inside the 5-yard line three times in the game but they failed to score, including the final fourth-down toss to the right sideline where Mooney reached up and outfought Benjamin St-Juste for the ball, only to bobble it slightly when he was at the goal line. It cost him those extra inches to the end zone and he was ruled down and out of bounds just outside the goal line.
"I've just got to close the game for us," Mooney said. "If I want to be that player, I want to be that guy for our team, I've got to make that play."
It was something Fields was also saying after he overthrew wide-open Ryan Griffin on an open second-quarter play from the 3-yard line.
"The one that made me mad was the one to Griff in the end zone," Fields said. "He probably could have ran a little bit more but he was wide open. Like, I've got to hit that. I'm an NFL quarterback, I've got to hit that."
Two plays later the Bears failed to score on a fourth-and-1 run by Khalil Herbert and one scoring chance vanished.
Another chance came earlier in the second quarter when Fields threw a pass that struck a helmet, popped into the air and was picked off at the Washington 6-yard line by Jonathan Allen.
The other failed chance was Mooney's bobble that came about after a miraculous 39-yard scramble by Fields to the Washington 5 in the final seconds.
The Bears seemed done when Joey Slye lined up for a 48-yard field goal just before that but he missed wide left, and Fields rapidly led them down in the two-minute drill to the end zone porch, 61 yards in eight plays.
"Everybody's mad," Fields said. "Nobody is happy about this loss. We always get told 'we're almost there, we're almost there.' Me, personally, I'm tired of being almost there. I'm tired of being just this close.
"I feel like I've been hearing it for so long now. But you know, at the end of the day we just have got to get back to work. That's the only reaction you have. Then you learn and we'll be back next weekend and try to be better."
They had 14 of 27 for 190 yards from Fields despite a sore left shoulder, and he also ran for a team-high 88 yards on 12 attempts as Washington's dynamic defensive line forced him to scramble often by beating up the Bears offensive line.
They outgained the Commanders 392 yards to 214 but couldn't get that 1 extra yard needed at the goal line.
"When you get down there three times you've got to come away with some points, especially when you have a defense that can keep them to 12 points," center Sam Mustipher said. "You've got to get down there and score."
It actually should have been six points except for the muffed punt, Jones' second and likely the last one he'll be returning for a while.
"Yeah we're going to have to look at that," Eberflus said. "The No. 1 job of a kick returner or punt returner is to catch the ball. So we're going to have to look at that."
He also plans to study other positions and usages of players during the mini-bye the Bears have this weekend before playing New England Oct. 24.
"We're going to reassess everything," Eberflus said. "Everything. We're going to reassess from scheme to players to everything and we're going to do a good job of that here coming up and we're going to do a good job of really getting it to the players. It might be a lineup change or it might be technique, fundamentals, all that. Scheme, how we're running certain plays, who we're getting the ball to, what we're doing well, what we need to improve on."
One improvement might simply be getting it over the goal line and closing out a game after three straigh weeks of narrow defeats at game's end.
Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven
