general manager Ryan Poles confirmed in an interview on ESPN 1000 that he had a talk with head coach Matt Eberflus about having the team’s best defensive players on the field during crucial in-game situations.
In a November 27 interview before the Bears’ Week 12 win over the Minnesota Vikings on “Monday Night Football,” Poles revealed he spoke to Eberflus after the team’s ugly loss to the Detroit Lions the previous week. Chicago’s defense allowed two touchdowns in the final four minutes against Detroit, and two of the team’s top defenders were curiously absent for chunks of both touchdown drives.
Top pass rusher Montez Sweat played 39 out of a possible 63 snaps against Detroit (63%). Per Josh Schrock of NBC Sports, on third downs and red zone plays against the Lions, Sweat was on the field for 9-of-18 plays. Star linebacker Tremaine Edmunds wasn’t on the field for any of the 11 plays the Lions ran on their final, game-winning drive. Edmunds played 41 snaps against the Lions. Fellow linebacker T.J. Edwards played 61.
