With the Bears and Broncos tied 28-28 and three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Chicago head coach Matt Eberflus eschewed a 36-yard field goal and instead decided to go for it on fourth-and-1.
It didn’t work: Eberflus called timeout and then sent his offense on the field for a Khalil Herbert run up the middle that the Broncos’ defense was ready for. Herbert was stuffed, the Broncos got the ball, and Denver drove down the field for the game-winning field goal.
After the game, Eberflus defended the decision, saying he thought a first down would allow the Bears to run out the clock before kicking the game-winning field goal.
“We had a decision to make there. I loved the way our offense was running the ball at that time, and we had a really good chance to seal the deal right there, and it was a decision we made at that moment,” Eberflus said.
The analytics said a field goal would have been a better choice, but Eberflus trusted his gut and went for it on fourth-and-1. That cost the Bears, and now they’re 0-4.