Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

There isn’t a more dysfunctional team in the NFL right now than the Chicago Bears. They have been awful under the leadership of head coach Matt Eberflus as they have gone 3-18 with him as the head coach and are currently riding a 14-game losing streak.

There isn’t a facet of the game in which the Bears are excelling with him at the helm and they are finding new ways to embarrass themselves on an almost daily basis. On Sunday, the team had a double-whammy of embarrassment.

On the field, things actually looked good for three quarters for Chicago. They were leading 28-7 against the Denver Broncos heading into the fourth quarter and Justin Fields was having a career game. He had only one incompletion heading into the final stanza, throwing for 285 yards and four touchdowns.

But, things quickly unraveled. Their lead disappeared as the Broncos tied the game after Fields was sacked and fumbled, leading to a touchdown. Inexplicably, Eberflus went for it on fourth down, in a tied game, despite being well within field goal range. 

Naturally, the Bears didn’t convert and the Broncos drove down the field for what ended up being the game-winning field goal. Fields threw an interception on the final drive of the game, dropping them to 0-4.

While the loss was embarrassing enough for Eberflus, things actually got worse after the game. Wide receiver Chase Claypool was inactive for the game, something that has been hinted at this season given his dismal effort being put in on the field.

According to Eberflus, it was Claypool who made the decision to not come to the game and stay away from the team. Alas, that doesn’t sound like it is true. According to a Bears spokesperson, it was confirmed that Claypool was asked to stay home and didn’t make the decision on his own.

That kind of miscommunication is embarrassing for the entire franchise and certainly doesn’t paint Eberflus in a positive light. The Bears have turned into the laughingstock of the NFL and some major changes are going to have to be made for them to climb out of the doldrums.

To make this situation even worse, Chicago traded for Claypool last year ahead of the deadline. They acquired him from the Pittsburgh Steelers in exchange for the No. 32 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. That transaction will go down as one of the worst trades in league history.

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