Help me out here. Was it energy that Thomas Brown was supposed to bring to the Bears in his debut as interim head coach? It was that or leadership. Or maybe it was tenacity that was going to make him the anti-Matt Eberflus.
I hope it wasn’t offensive yards that Brown was supposed to add because, of all the above options, that one was in the shortest supply Sunday against the 49ers. The Bears had four yards at halftime, the 49ers had 319, the score was 24-0 and, no, it couldn’t have been much worse. The game was over at that point, but league rules required that the Bears stay for what ended up being a 38-13 loss. Nothing explains why the rest of us stuck around.
The sad Bears couldn’t even take advantage of the new-coach vibe that comes with a regime change. The subdued, out-of-his-element Eberflus had been sent on his way 10 days earlier, and the idea was that Brown would offer an energy boost, at a minimum by being a breathing being. But for the first 30 minutes of football Sunday, the Bears assumed the fetal position. San Francisco quarterback Brock Purdy did whatever he wanted against a Bears defense that, generally speaking, is better than that. Just not on this particular Sunday. The 49ers had the ball for 19 minutes, 15 seconds out of those 30 first-half minutes, which starts to explain the yardage discrepancy.
Bears quarterback Caleb Williams was a rumor in the first two quarters, except when he was being sacked, at which point he was painfully real. The offensive line went back to being ushers instead of bouncers, leading to seven sacks on the afternoon.
All of it had to be Brown’s darkest nightmare.
“We got our butts kicked,’’ he said.
I’d point out that San Francisco was playing without stars Nick Bosa and Christian McCaffrey, who were injured, but that would be cruel. Their absence was one of the reasons that more than a few people thought the Bears were going to win Sunday. This franchise leads the league in people willing to believe in it day after day, year after year and decade after decade, no matter the facts.
The most galling part of Sunday was that, for Bears fans, it was supposed to be a break from what had been a painful, predictable season. They’d see what the team could do with someone else holding the reins.
Then the game started.
Brown was the Bears offensive coordinator for three games before being named interim head coach, so he can’t be blamed for the cluelessness of his defense Sunday. The unit allowed five plays of 20 yards or more – in the first quarter. It might seem safe to say that the Bears now know who four-time All-Pro tight end George Kittle is, but I’m not willing to bet on it. He found himself so open at times that he had to be treated for loneliness in the medical tent. He finished with six receptions for 151 yards.
The Bears’ offense showed signs of life on offense in the second half, but not enough to stave off a seventh straight defeat.
I don’t know how many times after a loss I’ve heard puzzled Bears coaches and players talk about the preceding good week of practice, but I do know that the streak is still alive.
“Practice went good,’’ receiver DJ Moore said Sunday evening.
Fear not, Bears president Kevin Warren is in total command.
Sunday’s game did nothing to make anyone associated with the team feel better about this season. Nothing seemed like it could be much worse than Warren’s awkward press conference last week with general manager Ryan Poles, but then the first half happened.
Brown isn’t to blame for the debacle in Santa Clara, Calif., though he was thoroughly outcoached by the 49ers’ Kyle Shanahan. This is a team thing, a franchise thing. The same group of players that Eberflus lost control of this season played Sunday. The same dark emotions that led to a coach getting fired were still lurking in the locker room. That’s not a switch that can be flipped off in a second.
“We’ve got enough of the right guys in the locker room from a leadership standpoint to get back to work,’’ said Brown, sounding positively Eberflus-ian.
Sunday suggests that this is bigger than a coaching problem.
That brings us back to Warren, who wanted to send out a message during last week’s press gathering that he was in charge. Well, here you go, Mr. Big. This one’s on you and Poles. But mostly on you because you asked for it.