When the Chicago Bears lost on Oct. 1, the talk wasn’t about Matt Eberflus being head coach in 2024. It was if he’d last until Halloween.
The Bears are proud of the fact that they’ve never fired a coach during the season. That likely changed the entire landscape of the franchise going forward. Eberflus is the rare case of a coach getting himself off the hottest of seats.
The Bears, who fell to 0-4 on Oct. 1 and were as low as 2-7 in early November, have won five of seven and are among the hottest teams in the NFL as the regular season closes. The Bears handled the Atlanta Falcons, a team that was still alive for the NFC South title, in an easy, 37-17 win Sunday. Chicago piled up more than 400 yards of offense, and the final outcome was rarely in doubt. In the process, Eberflus continued his unlikely resurgence.
It looked bad for Eberflus early this season. When the Bears were 2-7, his career record was 5-21. The start of the season was a nightmare. Chicago lost 38-20 to its rival, the Green Bay Packers, in the opener. In the second game, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Bears and Bucs defensive players said they knew which play was coming on a pick 6 that put the game away. It wasn’t a good look for Chicago’s coaching staff.
It continued to get worse. On Sept. 20, three days after the loss to Tampa Bay, quarterback Justin Fields said he was being robotic and thinking too much on the field, and when asked the reason, he said it could be “coaching.” That same day, Bears defensive coordinator Alan Williams resigned under unusual circumstances.
Eberflus seemed to be in trouble after Week 3, when the Bears trailed the Kansas City Chiefs 34-0 at halftime. They were outscored 27-0 in the second quarter and lost 41-10. The next week, the Bears fell to 0-4 with a loss to the then-winless Denver Broncos, with a questionable decision from Eberflus to go for it on fourth down rather than attempt a go-ahead field goal in the final minutes.
After all of that, it seemed that Eberflus had no chance of making it to a third season. But then things turned around.
Fields started making a ton of plays. The defense looked entirely different. If a coach should be judged on the improvement of his team, Eberflus passed that test. The Bears are better, and they have been for most of the second half of the season. There was a report this past week from NFL Media that Eberflus was expected back in 2024. That wasn’t a surprise. Sunday’s win helped his case to return, if there was any doubt about it.
The offseason is set up well for the Bears. The Carolina Panthers lost again and the Arizona Cardinals won, clinching the first overall NFL Draft pick for the Bears. They can draft either Caleb Williams or Drake Maye and trade Fields for some picks or trade the pick for what might be a record haul. It’s a good place to be in. Chicago also has plenty of salary-cap space for the second straight offseason.
Whether it’s a good thing that Eberflus will be back as coach can be debated. It’s not like any Bears fans wanted him back two months ago. But the Bears will enter the offseason with a lot of momentum after a strong finish. And it appears that they will return their head coach to see if he can keep the good vibes going next season.
Here are the rest of the winners and losers for Week 17 of the NFL season:
WINNERS
Mason Rudolph: When Rudolph got the Pittsburgh Steelers’ starting quarterback job, it seemed it might be for a week. Two if Kenny Pickett was slow to heal.
Rudolph kept the starting job this week even when it appeared Pickett was healthy enough to return, and there’s no reason for Pittsburgh to turn back now. Rudolph might even end up starting a playoff game.
The Steelers are still alive in the wild-card race after a 30-23 win over the Seattle Seahawks. Rudolph was solid again, with 274 yards. He has taken chances downfield, and that has unlocked George Pickens in particular. Pickens had 131 yards in the win.
The Steelers’ offense was awful most of the season. It hasn’t been too bad with Rudolph at quarterback. The question of what that means for the Steelers beyond the end of this season is a conversation for a later date.
Brock Purdy’s rebound: Purdy was coming off a rough game in a big spot against the Ravens, but the San Francisco 49ers quarterback reminded everyone Sunday that on the whole, he is having a great season.
Purdy was excellent, with many big throws, in the 49ers’ 27-10 win over the Washington Commanders. He set a 49ers single-season record for passing yards, which was held by Jeff Garcia. That record speaks to the type of season Purdy is having. He had 230 yards and a 124.7 passer rating Sunday.
The 49ers are fine, despite the surprisingly lopsided loss to the Ravens last week. Purdy is just fine, too.
C.J. Stroud and Offensive Rookie of the Year: Stroud was the favorite to win Offensive Rookie of the Year, but when he missed two weeks due to a concussion, he lost some ground in the race to Rams receiver Puka Nacua.
The race should be over now. Stroud returned and was right back on track in a decisive, 26-3 win over the Tennessee Titans. He threw for 213 yards and a touchdown with a 102.7 passer rating. That’s the type of performance he has been logging all season.
The Texans are still alive for the AFC South title or a wild-card spot heading into Week 18. Stroud is the biggest reason for that, and he’s about to get a nice reward for his effort.
C.J. Beathard: The Jacksonville Jaguars were smart to sit Trevor Lawrence. He has a sprained AC joint in his right shoulder, on top of other injuries he has played through this season. The Jaguars weren’t going anywhere in the playoffs with a banged up Lawrence. But Jacksonville also couldn’t afford to lose because of a three-way tie for first place in the AFC South.
The Jaguars stole a win Sunday. They beat the Carolina Panthers 26-0 with Beathard filling in capably at quarterback. Beathard had 178 yards and no interceptions, which is all the Jaguars needed. The defense shut down a bad Panthers offense, and the Jaguars’ offense did enough to make sure the game wasn’t close. Jacksonville finishes the season with a chance to win a division title at the Titans in Week 18. Maybe the Jags will have Lawrence back for it.
AFC South: The Jaguars, Texans and Indianapolis Colts all won Sunday, setting up a dramatic final week in the division.
The Colts beat the Las Vegas Raiders 23-20 to keep their playoff hopes alive. It wasn’t pretty the whole way through, but not much has been pretty for this season’s Colts. Still, they keep winning. They’re 9-7 and play the Texans in Week 18. That could end up being a play-in game for a wild-card spot or for the division if the Jaguars lose to the Titans.
The AFC South was supposed to be one of the NFL’s worst divisions. Thanks to surprising seasons from the Colts and Texans, three teams from the division are still alive going into the final week.
Los Angeles Rams, but it was close: The Rams had a tricky game Sunday at the New York Giants. The Giants have been more competitive with Tyrod Taylor at quarterback, and he had more than 300 yards Sunday. The Rams, fresh off a cross-country trip, made mistakes to keep the Giants in the game but held on.
The Rams were probably lucky the Giants have had kicker issues. They had to sign Mason Crosby, the former Packers kicker who has been unsigned all season, and have him kick Sunday. Crosby missed a 54-yarder in the final minute, and the Rams won 26-25. The Rams also caught a break when Tyrod Taylor missed a wide-open Saquon Barkley on a 2-point conversion earlier in the fourth quarter.
The Rams don’t care how they pick up wins. They had a chance to clinch a playoff spot in Week 17 with a win and either a Seahawks loss or a Packers-Vikings tie. They handled their part of that equation, and then the Seahawks lost to the Steelers in the late games. It wasn’t easy, but the Rams are headed back to the playoffs.
LOSERS
Anyone but Lamar Jackson in the MVP race: While Josh Allen might still have a tiny chance to steal the MVP award with an enormous Week 18 (if Buffalo wins next week, it takes the AFC East title), Jackson likely settled the matter Sunday.
Jackson had a huge game as the Baltimore Ravens kept rolling, blowing out the Miami Dolphins 56-19 to clinch the top seed in the AFC. The MVP has gone to the quarterback of a No. 1 seed in 11 of the past 14 seasons.
Jackson had a perfect game Sunday. He completed 12 of 14 passes for 255 yards and three touchdowns in the first half for a perfect 158.3 passer rating. He kept it going in the second half and finished with 321 yards, five touchdowns and a 158.3 rating. That should end the MVP race.
Jackson is having a marvelous season. He started to get a lot of MVP buzz after a Week 16 win over the 49ers. The hype won’t slow down after another impressive Ravens win against a very good opponent. They’re looking like Super Bowl favorites after blasting the Dolphins, and Jackson is on the verge of his second MVP award.
Philadelphia Eagles: The Eagles are in a tailspin late in the season.
Philadelphia can’t be taken seriously as a contender unless something changes, and there’s not a lot of time to fix everything that’s wrong. The Eagles lost 35-31 to an Arizona Cardinals team that was 3-12 coming in, with James Conner scoring the game-winning touchdown with 32 seconds left. That gives the Cowboys a chance to win the NFC East next week (and makes the officiating controversy at Dallas on Saturday an even bigger deal).
The Eagles’ defense has been a problem all season, and it couldn’t get the stop it needed in the final two minutes Sunday. Giving up 35 points to the Cardinals at home is a terrible look. It wasn’t a fluky loss, either; the Eagles were completely outplayed. They got a 99-yard interception return for a touchdown in the first half and still lost.
The Eagles have lost four of five and surrendered any shot at the No. 1 NFC seed, which went to the San Francisco 49ers. The latest loss should sound some alarms throughout Philadelphia. And it opened the door for the Cowboys to steal the division.
Kansas City Chiefs offense, even in a win: Harrison Butker was a busy man Sunday. That’s not great for the Chiefs.
The good news is the Chiefs beat the Cincinnati Bengals 25-17 behind six field goals from Butker. But KC’s offense still doesn’t look right. The frustration was epitomized when Marquez Valdes-Scantling dropped a pass over the middle when he was wide open and Chiefs fans booed loudly.
The Chiefs moved the ball well enough to get those six field goals, and maybe that’s a bright spot. But for a team that’s used to getting in the end zone a lot with Patrick Mahomes at quarterback, it was another game stuck in neutral. Kansas City scored just one touchdown at home. It’s hard to count out a team with Mahomes at quarterback from making a playoff run, but the offense hasn’t looked like its normal self all season.
Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Mayfield and the Buccaneers were on a hot streak. But not much lasts long in the NFL this season.
Mayfield and the Buccaneers had a surprisingly bad game in a 23-13 loss to the New Orleans Saints, which kept them from clinching the NFC South. The Saints were up 20-0 before the Bucs scored in the fourth quarter. Mayfield struggled early in the game but was able to pad his stats late and get to 309 yards. He wasn’t that effective when it mattered.
The Bucs finish with a game against the Panthers and should be able to clinch the division then. But the loss Sunday takes a lot of steam out of their late-season hot streak.
This embedded content is not available in your region.
Bill O’Brien: O’Brien was supposed to help fix the New England Patriots’ offense. Instead, he has a bunch of players who look like they should be changing positions.
O’Brien doesn’t have a lot of talent to work with, and he’s limited by a miserable quarterback situation, but the team’s offensive coordinator isn’t helping a lot. The Patriots had four turnovers in the first 18 minutes of Sunday’s game, and their offense looked mostly bad again in a 27-21 loss to the Buffalo Bills. The Bills’ win, combined with the Dolphins’ loss, means Buffalo at Miami in Week 18 will be the AFC East championship.
The Patriots have a lot of work to do in the offseason and a lot of questions to answer, including with the coaching staff. The only good news is Patriots fans have to watch this offense for only one more game.
Chargers without Justin Herbert: Herbert has never looked more valuable than the past few weeks, when Easton Stick has been at quarterback.
The Chargers struggled all day to move the ball on the Denver Broncos and they lost 16-9. The Chargers didn’t score a touchdown, settling for three field goals. It has been a disappointing season for the Chargers and it’s ending with a thud.
The Chargers have a lot of questions to answer this offseason. Getting their quarterback back off injured reserve will be a good first step.
This article contains affilate links; if you click such a link and make a purchase, we may earn a commission.