Matt Eberflus couldn’t possibly top the series of brutal coaching decisions that led to defeats like the ones the Chicago Bears suffered over the past five weeks. It was the Hail Mary in Washington, the blocked field goal against Green Bay, and the overtime collapse against Minnesota. Yet somehow, Eberflus did it anyway. This time it was allowing the clock to expire despite only being five yards outside field goal range and having a timeout left in his pocket. It was the most baffling clock mismanagement many had ever seen, and once again squandered a spirited 4th quarter comeback by Caleb Williams. It wasn’t hard to hear what fans and media thought of the blunder. So what about GM Ryan Poles and team president Kevin Warren?

A source told SM that the two executives “stormed” out of their luxury box after what happened in the final seconds. They wasted no time getting down to the locker room. Adam Jahns of The Athletic added further details. It appears the two men did some things they don’t normally do after games. Warren spoke with Ted Crews, the man in charge of the Bears’ communications department. Poles had private words with Williams.

It is difficult to know what any of that means, but something is going on.

Maybe Warren has already decided what comes next for the franchise, along with general manager Ryan Poles.

After the Bears’ 23-20 loss against the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving, it could be time for Warren to convince McCaskey to break his longstanding preference of not firing a head coach during the season. Maybe that meeting comes Friday back at Halas Hall.

Inside Ford Field, Warren lingered in the Bears locker room longer than he typically has this season. He talked at length to special adviser Ted Crews, who came from the Kansas City Chiefs, and he briefly met with some players. Poles also put his arm around quarterback Caleb Williams for a few private words before exiting the locker room.

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Ryan Poles is on the cusp of making history.

A Bears head coach has never been fired midseason in franchise history. The McCaskey family has steadfastly refused to entertain the idea since they took over in 1983. There have been ample opportunities to do so like with Dave Wannstedt in 1998, Dick Jauron in 2003, and Marc Trestman in 2014. For whatever reason, they’ve been reluctant to pull the trigger. This incident, which has turned their organization into a national punchline, provides all the incentive they could ever need to finally do it.

It is clear players are fed up. Several key members of the locker room stated their disbelief at the clock management to end the game. If this were one incident, nobody would think too much about it. It wasn’t. This is merely the latest of several over the past two months. Winning games is hard enough in the NFL. The last thing players need is a head coach actively sabotaging their efforts with his horrendous situational decision-making. Ryan Poles has always been a practical man. If anybody would be willing to do the right thing, it’s him.

The Detroit Lions may have lost another defensive lineman when playing the Chicago Bears on Thursday in the annual Thanksgiving game.

Defensive end Josh Paschal was taken to the locker room after getting hurt while trying to chase down Bears quarterback Caleb Williams.

Paschal walked off under his own power with trainers, sat on the bench with teammates during the timeout and then walked under his own power to the locker room after the play.

A short time later, Paschal returned to the sideline with a knee brace but didn’t have a helmet.

LIVE UPDATES: Lions vs Bears score today: Live updates on Thanksgiving, highlights, game predictions

The Lions announced on social media that Paschal is questionable to return with a knee injury.

Already missing a litany of front-seven players on defense including Aidan Hutchinson, Marcus Davenport, Derrick Barnes and Alex Anzalone, Paschal is one of the last players the Lions can afford to lose.

The Lions are already without starting left tackle Taylor Decker and cornerback Carlton Davis III, who were ruled out before the game with injuries picked up against the Colts. The Lions are also without cornerback Emmanuel Moseley, who made his season debut last week.

The injury bug has been a problem for Detroit despite the hot start. In addition to the four starters the Lions have already lost on defense, the team just placed receiver and return man Kalif Raymond on injured reserve with a foot injury.

Have the Detroit Lions ever won the Super Bowl?

No, they have not won the Super Bowl, nor have they even played in the NFL’s ultimate game in the previous 58 editions. But they are the consensus Super Bowl 2025 betting favorite entering Week 13 of the 2024 NFL season, and lead the NFC at 10-1 entering Thursday’s Thanksgiving feast vs. the Chicago Bears.

Sadly, the Lions are the only NFC team to never make the Super Bowl. Three other NFL teams have never played in the Super Bowl, all in the AFC: Cleveland Browns, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Houston Texans.

However, both the Jaguars and Texans are expansion teams: The Jaguars joined the NFL in 1995, and the Texans arrived in 2002.

The Browns did not exist for three seasons (1996-98) after the team moved to Baltimore to become the Ravens, which means the Lions are the only club which took part in every season in the Super Bowl era to never make the game.

The Lions last January crumbled away their best chance ever to reach the Super Bowl, blowing a double-digit third-quarter lead and losing a gut-wrenching NFC championship game to the San Francisco 49ers.

Super Bowl LIX (59) is set for Feb. 9, 2025, at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, home of the New Orleans Saints.

There are 12 NFL teams to never win the Super Bowl, with records via Pro Football Reference:

• Lions (0-0)
• Browns (0-0)
• Jaguars (0-0)
• Texans (0-0)
• Chargers (0-1)
• Titans (0-1)
• Cardinals (0-1)
• Falcons (0-2)
• Panthers (0-2)
• Bengals (0-3)
• Bills (0-4)
• Vikings (0-4)

Lions championship history

The Lions last played for an NFL title in 1957, crushing the Browns, 59-14 for the crown for the third time in the 1950s. The Lions also beat the Browns for the NFL title in 1952 and 1953.

The Lions also won the NFL championship in 1935, their second season in Detroit.

The Lions famously had only one playoff win since that 1957 title — until last season, when they won twice: a 24-23 thriller over the Los Angeles Rams and 31-23 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Both games were at home at Ford Field, their first home playoff games since 1993.

HOW WE GOT HERE: Why Detroit Lions fell into championship obscurity

Some believe the team is cursed by Bobby Layne, who put a hex on the Lions in 1958 after he was traded to Pittsburgh. But that curse, when Layne purportedly said the team would not win a championship for another 50 years, was supposed to end in 2008. Instead, the Lions went 0-16 that season.

The Lions have made the NFC championship game twice: in the 1991 season, where they were promptly discarded by Washington, the eventual champions, 41-10, and in the 2023 season, when they blew a 17-point halftime lead and lost to San Francisco, 34-31.

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