Bears return to Ford Field, where everything imploded last season and their latest reboot began

The Bears are headed back to the sight of one of their most epic meltdowns when they return to Ford Field on Sunday to face the Lions. And for them, that’s really saying something.

Last season began unraveling with the Fail Mary against the Commanders, but it truly and fully imploded on Thanksgiving in Detroit. That nightmare was the end for former coach Matt Eberflus and the beginning of an overhaul that included plucking Ben Johnson from the Lions’ staff.

Johnson was on the sideline as the Lions’ offensive coordinator when Eberflus let the clock run out while still holding a timeout and having the ball, thus squandering the Bears’ chance at a comeback. He had a few laughs about it after replacing Eberflus, emphatically signaling for a timeout during one TV interview, but the time for chuckling has long passed.

The utopia the Bears dreamed up all offseason in which Johnson and quarterback Caleb Williams would team up to lift the franchise from embarrassments like that one got a harsh wakeup in the opener. Williams fizzled, the Bears squandered a double-digit lead over the Vikings in the fourth quarter and Johnson lost his debut.

When Williams was asked about the ordeal and what came out of it, he was in no mood for it and responded flatly, “Good team. They made a lot of plays. They came out with the win and we move on from it.”

Incredibly, the Bears were undecided on Eberflus’ future going into that game, a source said, despite him plunging toward a third consecutive losing season because of ongoing mistakes in games, with his staff, on the practice field and at the microphone.

The entire scene, which played out on national television and in reports afterward, was strike three metaphorically, but more like strike 50 literally.

Williams and Eberflus both erred in allowing 32 seconds to elapse before their last, desperate play while down three and on the fringe of field-goal range. Williams’ deep pass to Rome Odunze fell incomplete, the Bears lost, the audience was stunned and, minutes later, the locker room erupted against Eberflus.

The Bears fired him less than 24 hours later, although not before making a fool of him by letting his day-after-game Zoom call with the media proceed as scheduled, and from there it was a foregone conclusion that Johnson would be their target.

The biggest question for the organization 10 months later is how much has changed. Johnson brought a fiery presence and an insistence on sharp practice habits, and both of which were needed. But that approach will be empty if it doesn’t produce results.

“It’s a different dynamic with new coaches in here, versus a third-year coach that we’d been having growing pains with,” cornerback Jaylon Johnson told the Sun-Times. “The longer you’re in it with somebody, the longer you’re in a relationship, certain things blow up a certain way. But when you’re first getting into it, the leash is a little longer.

“Right now, we’ve got to let everybody prove themselves. Ben’s no different.”

The Bears, incidentally, will face Eberflus next week when they host the Cowboys. He’s their defensive coordinator.

Reboots have been too frequent and formulaic for the Bears. Every few seasons, hope surges with the hiring of a new coach or drafting of a new quarterback only for it to shortly come crashing down.

Johnson followed Eberflus, who followed Matt Nagy. Williams followed Justin Fields, who followed Mitch Trubisky. Each showed promise for at least a brief period. None sustained it.

Johnson and Williams will get time, certainly, but victories are imperative even in the early phase. Based on the roster and Williams’ potential, Johnson said this month, “There’s no reason why we can’t win this year,” and he needs to back that up. Burying the Bears’ bad memory from Ford Field last season with a good one Sunday would be a strong statement.