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Matt Eberflus could be running out of time in Chicago after botching a timeout while a national audience watched on Thanksgiving.
The clock is ticking on Brian Daboll in New York.
Mike McDaniel isn’t on the hot seat but Miami won’t go anywhere if the Dolphins can’t win in the cold.
Eberflus’ mistake was so egregious Thursday it wouldn’t be a surprise if the Bears made a coaching change.
The embattled third-year coach’s massive blunder overshadowed an impressive second-half performance by Caleb Williams after the rookie No. 1 pick rallied the Bears into position to potentially upset Detroit.
Eberflus then doubled down on the decision to allow precious seconds to tick off the clock.
Trailing the Lions 23-20, the Bears faced a second-and-20 at the Detroit 35 with 36 seconds remaining in the game. Williams was sacked by Za’Darius Smith for a 6-yard loss on a play he said was supposed to be a quarterback draw.
Eberflus should’ve used Chicago’s final timeout with 32 seconds left to give Williams and the offense an opportunity to reset after the sack. The priority on third-and-26 from the 41 should’ve been to call a short sideline pass to shorten the attempt for a tying field goal. Even a play in the middle of the field would’ve given the special-teams unit ample time to line up for a kick.
Instead, the clock kept ticking. Williams was helped up by two offensive linemen and his teammates lacked urgency lining up for the next play, perhaps thinking a timeout was going to be called. The Bears wasted 26 seconds before the ball was finally snapped to Williams with just 6 seconds to go. His deep pass to Rome Odunze fell incomplete as time expired before Cairo Santos could try a 59-yarder.
The decision not to stop the clock after the sack was inexplicable. Yet, Eberflus defended it.
“Our hope was, because it was third (down) going into fourth, that we would re-rack that play at 18 seconds, throw it inbounds, get it in field-goal range and then call a timeout,” Eberflus said. “And that’s where it was and that was our decision-making process on that.”
Williams also deserves blame for taking too much time to survey the field at the line of scrimmage before calling for the snap.
“I like what we did there,” Eberflus insisted. “I think we handled it the right way. I believe we could re-rack the play and get it done. It just didn’t work out.”
Eberflus should’ve had two timeouts entering that sequence but he had to waste one after Williams threw an incomplete pass on first down that stopped the clock with 43 seconds left.
He called that timeout to prevent a delay-of-game penalty because offensive coordinator Thomas Brown took too long to call a play.
The Bears are 4-8 following their sixth straight loss. A season that began with high expectations has deteriorated and Chicago is destined to miss the playoffs for the fifth straight year. Eberflus is 14-32 and isn’t helping his case with his questionable decisions.
Daboll didn’t have to mess anything up on Thursday to further jeopardize his position. His job status with the Giants has been iffy for weeks. The 2022 AP NFL Coach of the Year is 2-10 following a 27-20 loss at Dallas.
The Giants have lost seven straight games and are likely headed for a major overhaul that would include general manager Joe Schoen.
After a 2-5 start, owner John Mara said: “We are not making changes this season, and I do not anticipate making any changes in the offseason, either.”
The team hasn’t won a game since his vote of confidence.
“No, I don’t like the results,” Daboll said. “Nobody likes the results. But, again, I have confidence in the people. Just have to get better.”
The holiday tripleheader concluded with the Green Bay Packers defeating the Dolphins 30-17. Miami (5-7) has lost 12 straight games in which the temperature at kickoff has been below 40 degrees, according to Sportradar.
McDaniel led the Dolphins to the playoffs in each of his first two seasons, both ending with wild-card losses on the road in Buffalo two years ago and Kansas City last season.
With road games at Cleveland and the New York Jets to finish the season, Miami should have two more chances to break that cold-weather losing streak.
It could be too late to matter this season.
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) talks with head coach Matt Eberflus during the second half of an NFL football game in Detroit, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)
Chicago Bears head coach Matt Eberflus talks to the media after an NFL football game against the Chicago Bears in Detroit, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)
TORONTO (AP) — Nothing will replace the special moments and many firsts — first game, first road trip, first win — Hilary Knight enjoyed during the PWHL’s inaugural season.
At 35, one of USA Hockey’s most accomplished female players remains awed by the leap the league made in being established in late June 2023, launching six months later and catching the wave of women’s sports growth in North America.
“I think it’s just the perfect timing to be able to be a woman in pro sports and be a part of the piece that continues to move the sport forward,” Knight said. “We’re part of the conversation now.”
Even being on the ice with her Boston teammates following a decisive Game 5 loss in the finals in May and watching Minnesota players raise the Walter Cup didn't blemish Knight’s experience.
“Celebrating the first year for every team is critical because it was the inaugural season,” she said. “And now it really does feel like, ‘OK, let’s go.’”
Welcome to PWHL Season 2, which opens Saturday and features all six teams in action this weekend. There will be more games — 30 per team, up from 24 last year. There will be more talent, with an influx of both college graduates and European veterans.
Each team has a logo and nickname after going without last year. And there's already talk of expansion, with the privately financed and centrally controlled PWHL looking to add up to two franchises by next year.
“It’s hard to put into words, to be honest. Obviously, the first season exceeded all of our expectations,” vice president of hockey operations Jayna Hefford said. “We always believed. We had a vision for it. But to see it happen as quickly as it did was something that was pretty special.”
It's Game On again for a league that has Toronto moving into a larger home, New York finally settling on a home after splitting games at three sites, and the PWHL expanding its reach with nine neutral-site games ranging from North Carolina to the Pacific Northwest.
In Minnesota, the Frost are coming off the highs of winning the title while attempting to get past a tumultuous offseason. General manager Natalie Darwitz was dismissed following a league-launched internal and external review that, in part, revealed an irreconcilable rift between her and coach Ken Klee.
“For me it’s just about getting our group back together,” Klee said. “We’re focusing on the future. Pro hockey, things happen, some unfortunate things and some things out of our control, and we’re just really looking forward and excited to get the season going.”
The Frost seek to draw on how they persevered by sneaking into the playoffs after losing their final five regular-season games. Minnesota then overcame a 2-0 deficit in its best-of-five semifinal series against Toronto.
It’s a collapse that still stings in Toronto, where the regular-season champion Sceptres failed to overcome losing league MVP Natalie Spooner to a knee injury that will keep her sidelined for the start of this year.
“She was a huge part of our success last season, but I think the biggest thing for us as we approach this season without her in the lineup is that everyone is aware that they’re not going to replace Natalie Spooner,” captain Blayre Turnbull said. “Everyone has an opportunity to step up and be the best player that they can be. And I think it’ll be a good test for our team.”
The Victoire are motivated after being beset by injuries that contributed to Montreal being swept by Boston in a semifinal series that had all three games decided in overtime, including a 2-1, three-OT loss in Game 2.
General manager Danièle Sauvageau placed an emphasis on adding speed and offense to a lineup led by Team Canada captain Marie-Philip Poulin.
Among the newcomers are playmaking U.S. national team defenseman Cayla Barnes. Meantime, late-round 2023 draft pick Lina Ljungblom made the jump to North America after the 23-year-old finished third with 46 points (23 goals) in Sweden’s pro women’s league last season.
There’s increased expectations among the two non-playoff teams, Ottawa and New York.
New York had what's considered the best draft class in June, starting with the No. 1 selection of Canadian star and Princeton grad Sarah Fillier. The Sirens also drafted Swedish defenseman Maja Persson and Finnish forward Noora Tulus in the second and third rounds, and Canadian university player Emmy Fecteau in the sixth.
The newcomers join a last-place team featuring a new coach in Colgate’s Greg Fargo, who is highly regarded for his up-tempo approach.
“It’s just been a completely different vibe and environment,” forward Abby Roque said. “As bad as last year was for us as a team, I think there’s a lot of stuff we can build on.”
The same goes in Ottawa, where the Charge were eliminated on the final day of a season in which they went 1-6 in games ending past regulation. The PWHL awards three points for a regulation win, two for an overtime/shootout victory, and one to OT/shootout losers.
The Charge added size by drafting Canadian national team forward Danielle Serdachny and Finnish defenseman Ronja Savolainen. Ottawa also drafted Northeastern goalie Gwyneth Philips to back up starter Emerance Maschmeyer, who appeared in all but one game last season.
“I think we learned sort of the hard way just how tight this league is,” captain Brianne Jenner said. “At the end of the day, earning a couple of extra of those points would have served us well. So we’ll make sure we’re well-prepared this year for it.”
AP Sports Writer Dave Campbell in St. Paul, Minnesota, contributed.
AP Women’s Hockey: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-hockey
FILE - New York forward Alex Carpenter, center, is congratulated by teammates Paetyn Levis (19), Jade Downie-Landry (9) and Johanna Fallman after scoring against Toronto during the third period of a PWHL hockey game in Toronto, Ontario, Monday, Jan. 1, 2024. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP, File)
FILE - No. 1 overall draft pick Sarah Fillier, left, who was drafted by New York, shakes hands with tennis great Billie Jean King, front right, during the PWHL hockey draft in St. Paul, Minn., Monday June, 10, 2024. (Renée Jones Schneider/Star Tribune via AP, File)
FILE - United States forward Hilary Knight skates to the bench to celebrate her goal against Canada during the first period of a rivalry series women's hockey game, Nov. 8, 2023, in Tempe, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)
