As Bears coach Matt Eberflus’ losses and mistakes pile up, his future looks bleak. Barring any surprise upsets, he’s headed for his third straight losing season, and the team can’t afford to continue in this direction.

However, the Bears had not made a decision on his future before their game at the Lions on Thursday and the evaluation was ongoing, a source said. The team came into Ford Field on a five-game losing streak and a 4-7 record with six games remaining.

It’s late in the season and things aren’t looking good. Eberflus entered the game with a record of 14-31 and had a losing streak of four or more games in each of his three seasons.

Aside from the glaring overall record, which was the third-worst in franchise history before the game, Eberflus made mistakes in the game and his coaching staff was severely unstable.

The biggest problems have been on offense, where he is on his third coordinator after firing newcomer Shane Waldron nine games into the season and replacing him with passing game coordinator Thomas Brown.

Eberflus seemed unaware of the problems on offense, even when players began speaking publicly about them early in the season. A week before he fired Waldron, he firmly rejected the idea of ​​changing the game leaders.

The result of this mismanagement is that it has stunted the growth of rookie quarterback Caleb Williams, the No. 1 overall pick. The Bears are in an incredibly important window with him on a rookie contract through 2028 and can’t afford to miss their chance.

The Bears have an unwritten rule of not firing a head coach during the season and have not, but Eberflus could put them in a tough spot if the losses continue, locker room morale collapses or it becomes so overwhelmingly clear that this is the case. He is on the way to realizing that there is no point in continuing to hire him as a coach.

The Bears had a chance to tie or win at the end, but mismanagement of time was their undoing.

From Jason Lieser

From Patrick Finley

The Bears offense is getting going after two weeks of progress under new coordinator Thomas Brown, but faces a Lions defense that ranks second in points allowed. The Lions’ running back duo, Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery, will test the Bears’ run defense.

From Mark Potash