In a thrilling finish to the Bears-Lions game, Tony Romo didn’t hold back his criticism of the Bears’ mishandling of the final moments, calling the team’s lack of urgency “inexcusable.” The Bears had a chance to tie the game with under 30 seconds left, but after a sack of rookie quarterback Caleb Williams with 35 seconds remaining, Chicago failed to use their final timeout, which led to the clock running out before they could execute a play.
Romo, analyzing the situation during the broadcast, explained that with one timeout left and 36 seconds on the clock, the Bears were still in field goal range and could have easily completed a short pass, spiked the ball, and set up a potential game-tying field goal attempt. Instead, the Bears allowed valuable time to slip away, and with only one last play, Williams’ pass fell incomplete as the clock hit triple zeroes.
“That was malpractice as a head coach,” Romo said, referring to Bears head coach Matt Eberflus. “You have a young rookie quarterback, and you have to protect him in those situations. You have to be the guiding voice.”
Romo pointed out that a timeout should have been called immediately after the sack. He also mentioned that the quarterback should have been more aware of the time and urgency, stressing the importance of quick thinking in such critical moments.
This series of mistakes capped off a wild and chaotic end to a game that had the Lions holding a comfortable 16-point lead entering the fourth quarter. While the Bears nearly pulled off an incredible comeback, their final series of plays left fans and analysts alike scratching their heads.
Despite the Bears’ late-game blunders, Romo acknowledged that the Lions, even with their own injuries, managed to hold on to win. “This team is showing a belief that they’re going to get it done, no matter what,” Romo noted, adding that the win—though not pretty—was a testament to their resilience and “next man up” mentality.
For the Bears, however, the defeat only magnified the coaching errors and mismanagement of the clock, and the failure to capitalize on a prime opportunity to tie the game could very well be a turning point for Eberflus and the team’s future. As Romo put it, “What they did there, it’s just inexcusable.”
The Lions, meanwhile, escaped with a 23-20 victory and extended their winning streak to 10 games, their longest in franchise history. Despite their struggles late in the game, Detroit improved to 11-1 and maintained their strong position in the NFC playoff race. The Bears, on the other hand, dropped to 4-8, continuing their losing streak and facing even more questions about their coaching staff and overall direction.
