Mike Greenberg Blasts Matt Eberflus For 'Dumbest' Comment After Hail Mary
10/28/2024 04:17 PM
Mike Greenberg joined everyone else in lambasting Matt Eberflus and the Chicago Bears following Sunday's stunning loss.
The Washington Commanders escaped Week 8 with an improbable 18-15 win after Bears cornerback Tyrique Stevenson — caught taunting fans after the final play started — tipped a Hail Mary right into the open arms of Noah Brown for a 52-yard touchdown as time expired. Chicago allowed that disastrous sequence to unfold following another questionable call.
Washington had the ball at the 35 with six seconds and no timeouts remaining. The Bears let Jayden Daniels quickly hit an unguarded Terry McLaurin near the sideline for 13 yards to set up a plausible Hail Mary try. Eberflus offered a curious explanation for his defensive strategy after the game.
"Because you're defending touchdown, right? You're defending touchdown there," Eberflus said, via ESPN's Courtney Cronin. "And them throwing the ball for 13 yards or 10 yards, whatever that is, doesn't really matter. It's always going to come down to that last play."
Along with most people seeing those comments, Greenberg disagreed. The ESPN host unloaded on Eberflus during Monday's Get Up.
"That's one of the five dumbest things I've ever heard a human being say in my entire life," Greenberg said. "In any context. It doesn't even have to be sports."
Greenberg believes the organization should take a long look at its third-year head coach following those remarks.
"If I own the team, and I hear the coach say that after the game, I have serious conversations amongst people about whether he is qualified to be the head coach of a National Football League team," Greenberg continued. "If he says those 15 yards didn't matter? Those 15 yards cost you the game every bit as much as the Hail Mary play at the very end."
Greenberg's colleagues were just as perplexed. Dan Orlovsky called Eberflus' comments a "horrible answer" and said the Bears " lost the game because of coaching." Rex Ryan laughed in disbelief, and Damien Woody walked out of his seat and paced around the studio.
The pressure is on Eberflus and his team to respond during a Week 9 matchup against the Arizona Cardinals.
Related: Bears Make Decision On Tyrique Stevenson After Hail Mary Failure