The Bears have the same old problems with coach Matt Eberflus.

With a strong roster and a brilliant rookie quarterback, one of the Bears’ biggest concerns was whether Eberflus could prove to be more than just a defensive strategist. They’re about halfway through the season and he hasn’t silenced the question yet.

The heat is on him again after Sunday’s 18-15 loss to the Commanders dropped him to 14-27. The offense sputtered, the defense failed – apparently due to the Commanders’ game-winning Hail Mary – and Eberflus had no answers to calm anyone down.

That was the norm during his time in office, during which there was always skepticism even in good times. He can only claim that everything is fine so many times.

Two main objections to the Bears’ hiring of Eberflus in 2022 were that they needed an offensive guru and that Dan Quinn would be a better option if they insisted on a defensive pick. Quinn and offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury, who the Bears also passed, have the Commanders rolling to 6-2.

Eberflus’ inability to contribute to the offense continues to surface, and it is inexcusable that he gave the go-ahead to coordinator Shane Waldron’s request to hand off to Doug Kramer at the goal line in the fourth quarter. His lost fumble cost the Bears a touchdown, but that’s on Waldron and ultimately Eberflus.

“When things don’t work, you work on something else and move on to another part that runs faster,” Eberflus said Monday. “But right there we practiced it again. Training was good. We went along with it.”

Recoil is not about playing the result. It was absurd to give a backup offensive lineman his first carry in a high-stakes scenario, and it’s exactly the time for Eberflus to step in, call a timeout and veto.

Eberflus said he agreed with the logic of Waldron’s call and had not considered scrapping it. He figured the worst-case scenario was that they would get stopped and try again on fourth down.

Eberflus got Waldron on the right track after the Week 3 debacle in Indianapolis, which included another ridiculously doomed goal line call, but Sunday signaled a step backwards. The Commanders kept the Bears out of the red zone until the fourth quarter, beating quarterback Caleb Williams and holding them to 307 total yards, 2 for 12 on third downs and 15 points.

Eberflus later said the Bears should have thrown more at their tight ends and running backs – Cole Kmet had a target and D’Andre Swift had none – but he needs to enforce that during the game, not after.

“I’m involved in the play and I call the guys between series and work with them and make suggestions,” he said.

“Suggestions” won’t save his job. A defensive-minded head coach can certainly be fired because of a poor offense.

The Bears’ defense held the Commanders well below their 31.1 points per game average, but brutal errors by Eberflus, cornerback Tyrique Stevenson and others led to a season-worst 481 yards allowed.

Mistakes end up costing you a lot of money. The Commanders won with a jumper when Jayden Daniels’ lob skipped to Noah Brown in the end zone, but the Bears could have narrowed the chances.

Eberflus seemed strangely OK and gave Daniels space underneath as he moved the Commanders from their own 24-yard line to the 48-yard line with two seconds left, which Quinn called “a really big deal.” Then his defense misplayed a scenario he had practiced “a hundred times” by not having anyone behind the scrum who could prevent exactly what happened.

Eberflus finished the game with all three timeouts and could have easily used one of them to give his players some breathing room, not to mention realizing before the game that Stevenson was on another planet.

The contrast between Eberflus and Quinn was pronounced. Eberflus seemed overwhelmed, and that had been the case far too often.

The talented cornerback apologized to his teammates for a mental error in the disastrous Hail Mary that beat the Bears on Sunday – Commanders hero Noah Brown was his responsibility. He has to find a way to play off the edge without letting it get the best of him.

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