Bombshell NFL News Hands Matt Eberflus A Giant Opportunity

If one were being honest, looking ahead on the Chicago Bears' schedule, things looked bleak for head coach Matt Eberflus. His team had just struggled to beat the hapless Carolina Panthers on Thursday night. The next four games will be against teams with winning records. Three of those games are on the road, and three are against top-10 defenses. Eberflus sits at three wins. It feels like he'll need to double that to justify keeping him for another year. That slate doesn't seem like it will accommodate that wish. Well, things have taken a considerable shift.

The NFL world was rocked by shocking news that quarterback Deshaun Watson had a bone fracture in his throwing shoulder that would require surgery. His season is over. It is a brutal blow to a team that is right in the thick of the AFC playoff chase. Not only that, but it finally looked like Watson was rediscovering his old form from his Houston days. It is a massive gut bunch. That puts the season in the hands of backup P.J. Walker. While he is 1-1 as a starter this year, he's thrown one touchdown and five interceptions.

A game that looked like an obvious loss on paper now seems not quite as daunting.

Matt Eberflus has no excuses.

Beating the Detroit Lions on Sunday is a long shot. They're one of the best teams in the NFC and are seeing the culmination of a long rebuild with a loaded roster. However, the two games after that aren't impossible to grab. Minnesota is forced to play the rest of the year with a backup QB. Josh Dobbs has played well since arriving from Arizona, but he's not Kirk Cousins. After that comes the bye week, allowing the Bears to rest and get healthy. Then they have the showdown in Cleveland against the Browns.

Their defense is the best in the league, but even it has limits. If Matt Eberflus can take advantage of Walker's turnover-prone ways, it might allow the Bears to wear them down with a steady running game. Winning against the Vikings and Browns would mean all Eberflus has to do is beat Atlanta, Arizona, or Green Bay over the final three games to secure six wins. Justin Fields is set to return from his dislocated thumb. The team appears mostly healthy. This is a rare stroke of luck good coaches would take advantage of.

Eberflus has few excuses left.