CLEVELAND -- The day after a 20-17 loss to the Cleveland Browns all but extinguished any hopes of a December run toward the playoffs, Chicago Bears coach Matt Eberflus opted to focus on the areas in which his team has shown consistent improvement.
He lauded Chicago's 12 interceptions and 14 takeaways since Week 11, both of which lead the NFL. The Bears scored 14 points off turnovers in Cleveland (their most of the season), have outscored opponents 39-0 in the third quarter in their past five games and saw defensive end Montez Sweat reach a career-best 12.5 sacks on Sunday.
Eberflus' list didn't have a lot of offensive accomplishments -- the Bears averaged 3.4 yards per play against the Browns while going three-and-out on eight of their 15 possessions -- nor did he mention the area in which Chicago has been most consistent all season: its inability to finish games.
The loss to Cleveland marked the third time this season the Bears lost after leading by 10-plus points in the fourth quarter, which is tied for the most such losses in a season in NFL history, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
Blown double-digit leads in the waning moments against the Denver Broncos, Detroit Lions and Browns, and losing one-score games against the Minnesota Vikings and New Orleans Saints, have defined the 2023 Bears season.
"I didn't like how we felt comfortable in the third quarter," wide receiver Darnell Mooney said postgame. "Just lackadaisical and just conservative.
"Everybody was just happy that we were winning, and just got to be aggressive and continue to put their foot on the pedal and just go out there and punch 'em. Tried to switch gears in the fourth quarter once they scored. It's hard to do that."
With three games remaining, the 5-9 Bears have ensured back-to-back losing seasons under Eberflus no matter the outcomes against the Arizona Cardinals, Atlanta Falcons and Green Bay Packers.
"Look, it's hard," tight end Cole Kmet said. "This is my fourth year in this. It's tough, man, it's tough.
"You come here every day wanting to build a winner out of this. It's tough to have games like this, and games we've had like this prior, where we've been in reach of winning the game and should win the game, and it doesn't come out like that."
There were various reasons for the Bears' collapse, including:
Tight end Robert Tonyan dropping a wide-open deep ball in the first quarter.
Passing up a 55-yard field goal attempt to break a 7-7 tie before halftime in lieu of a Hail Mary attempt that Eberflus said he believed was better suited because of wind and weather conditions. Chicago did not score.
Keeping quarterback Joe Flacco in check through three quarters of his third start for the Browns (162 yards passing, three interceptions), then allowing him to throw for 212 yards in the fourth quarter.
The offense getting too comfortable playing with a lead only to watch another Hail Mary attempt go awry on the final play of the game.
"We've got to do our jobs, coaches have to do their jobs, especially us, because we're out there playing the game," Moore said. "We have to go out there and make something shake."
For 15 weeks, players and coaches have pointed to a lack of execution. That was the case on a handful of short-yardage situations on early downs that put Chicago in 10 different third-and-longs it did not convert.
"It comes down to winning the line of scrimmage," Eberflus said. "When you have those plays, you got to win up front. Having the right push is obviously important, and then design is important, too. So, it's all three factors."
Even the Bears' defense, which carried the weight in Cleveland, experienced its own gut-wrenching letdown when Flacco hit David Njoku on a deep ball to put Cleveland in field goal range to take the lead for good.
"We were a little hurt for sure," linebacker Tremaine Edmunds said. "Anytime you are out there on the field and have a chance to close out the game, you want to close it out.
"But the truth of it is the game didn't come down to just that play."