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Courtney Cronin, ESPN Staff Writer
LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Coach Matt Eberflus knows the Chicago Bears haven’t won a game in more than 11 months, but he said Wednesday that “our sole focus is on Washington” and that anything else is just a distraction.
“I’ve been doing this 32 years, so I understand the business, but I understand that to do it right you got to focus on your job, and you got to focus on right here, right now,” Eberflus said. “So, you can think about a lot of different things that’s going to do nobody good. You can focus on your job and where your feet are right now. Our sole focus is on Washington.”
The Bears dropped to 0-4 last Sunday after a 31-28 defeat to Denver at Soldier Field. Chicago held a three-touchdown lead in the third quarter but allowed the Broncos to score 24 unanswered points.
Tied 28-28 with 2:57 remaining, Eberflus passed up a 36-yard field goal attempt and instead decided to go for it on fourth-and-1 from the Broncos’ 18-yard line. He was pleased with how well the Bears were running the ball up to that point.
Khalil Herbert was stopped shy of a first down on a run out of the shotgun after a timeout, which allowed Denver to take possession and march down the field to kick a game-winning 51-yard field goal.
Eberflus defended his decision, saying he’d make the same one again based on the win probabilities the team had sorted through in attempting to score a touchdown versus kicking a field goal.
“Based on the scenario that was there, yes,” Eberflus said.
Eberflus is 3-18 as coach of the Bears, which is the worst mark in franchise history. Chicago has never fired a head coach during a season, but the franchise is also navigating uncharted territory during a season that had started with elevated expectations.
“I think I’ve stated it many times that we have a bunch of new guys here and bringing them together is a big piece of it,” Eberflus said. “We’re in the process of that. I certainly feel that we took a big step in the right direction last week. We got to take another big step this week.
“We’re working hard on the details, we’re working hard with the units, we’re working hard with the position groups and all those things. But it’s important that we keep bringing them together and take a step this week.”
Eberflus said he felt supported when asked whether he had received assurances from Bears brass about the direction the team is headed despite mounting losses.
“I feel the support,” Eberflus said. “I haven’t talked to anybody about any of those things. I feel the support, and we’re just focused on Washington.”
Source: www.espn.com