The Bears found a way to add injury to insult.
In the final minute of an embarrassing 29-9 loss to the Cardinals, star rookie QB Caleb Williams was still in the game with the team still calling pass plays.
Williams took a hit on Chicago’s final offensive play and limped off the field with an apparent ankle injury.
CBS analyst Charles Davis was at a loss for why the Bears would put Williams at risk in a game that had long been decided.
“I am sorry, this just does not make sense to me,” said Davis, who played safety at Tennessee in the 80s.
“This is your rookie quarterback, this is your face of the franchise. I don’t think he should be out there for the two minutes. I hope he’s OK.”
Williams did say after the game that he was fine, though coach Matt Eberflus was still questioned about the decision.
“We’re just getting work,” Eberflus said. “Getting work and getting timing, getting timing in the two-minute operation. That’s what we’re doing.”
Williams did not criticize the decision that came at the tail end of another frustrating performance for the offense.
“It’s not my decision. You fight to the end of the game,” Williams said. “If you’re in the game, if not, that’s coach’s decision. We’ll figure out the next steps, but not my decision.”
A hopeful Bears season has unraveled in the past two weeks, losing on a Hail Mary against the Commanders last week before a no-show in the desert.
The Bears trailed 14-9 after kicking a field goal with 26 seconds left before halftime but then allowed a 53-yard touchdown run by Emari Demercado to set the tone for a dismal second half to come.
Eberflus has been under fire all week after strategic questions that led up to Washington’s Hail Mary, and after this game, Williams said the team did not move on well from the Washington defeat.
“I think we could have done better overall of bouncing back,” Williams said. “I know it’s a tough loss, tough regardless of who you are in the facility: If you’re out there making plays or making decisions up top.
“Being better at that, understanding that we have many more games left after that, being able to be a family and move on from that and have the right leaders, which we do. We have the right guys to bounce back from something like that and we gotta do it this week.”
The 4-4 Bears take on the Patriots (2-7) on Sunday.