Incompetent coaching dooms a pretty good Bears effort

So how do you process what happened to the Bears at Ford Field on Sunday?

On one hand, a whole lot went right.

Like a WHOLE lot.

But when the clock hit 0:00, the Bears had fewer points than their opponent for the 22nd time in 28 games under coach Matt Eberflus. For those who struggle with math, that means they are 6-22 in what should be Eberflus' second and last season in Chicago.

A competent coaching staff would not have allowed the Bears to blow a 26-14 lead with 4:15 remaining.

But no.

We all know what happened instead. The Lions marched 75 yards in six plays to make it 26-21, forced a three-and-out, marched 73 yards in 11 plays to make it 29-26, then got a safety to secure a 31-26 victory.

The last four minutes were laughable, erasing 56 minutes of some impressive football.

Here are my biggest take-aways:

The good

• Justin Fields missed on some throws but still went 16-for-23 for 169 yards, including a gorgeous 39-yard strike to D.J. Moore that gave the Bears a 20-14 lead with 4:41 remaining in the third quarter. This day is something to build off for Fields - if he doesn't get too depressed about yet another loss.

• Give Luke Getsy credit for a solid game plan. Detroit struggled mightily defending the run option, and it allowed Fields to scamper for 104 yards on 18 attempts.

• Nine targets for D.J. Moore led to 7 receptions for 96 yards. Finally, Fields sees what happens when he targets his No. 1 wide receiver more than 4-6 times.

• Interceptions by Tyrique Stevenson, T.J. Edwards, and Tremaine Edmunds showed the Bears can read and react in the secondary.

• Stevenson's forced fumble on a kickoff return came as a result of a hard hit - the kind of tackling we've seen little of this season.

• Great call to have Jack Sanborn blitz on third-and-2 on Detroit's first possession of the second half. It led to a sack and forced a punt.

• Montez Sweat, in his third game with the Bears, notched his first sack and had a tackle for loss.

The bad

• For as great a day as the secondary had, it could have been so much better if Jaylon Johnson hangs on to a sure pick-six early in the second quarter. It would have given the Bears a 14-0 lead. Instead, the Lions scored one play later to make it 7-7.

• Four minutes before that, rookie WR Tyler Scott lost a fumble at the 34-yard line.

• After the Lions cut the lead to 26-21, the Bears took over with 2:59 remaining. One first down likely ends the game. Two for sure.

But now Getsy gets conservative by calling back-to-back dive plays to Khalil Herbert? What happened to the run option that was working so well? Or how about using rookie Roschon Johnson, who averaged 5.0 yards on 6 carries?

Instead, Herbert ran into a brick wall both times.

• On third-and-9 with 2:51 remaining, Fields dropped back and surveyed the field. D.J. Moore was open running on a crossing route, but Fields opted to go deep to Tyler Scott. It was a solid throw, but Scott slowed down for a split second and couldn't catch up to the ball. Scott beat himself up in the locker room postgame, but if that ball goes to Moore, it's a first down and a likely victory.

• The Bears still had a chance, but Fields was hit from the blind side after Aidan Hutchinson blew past Bears tackle Darnell Wright. It was an unfortunate finish for Wright, who had a very solid day.

In the end, there's a lot for Bears fans to be encouraged about.

Fields looked like a competent quarterback, the running game was decent, the defense came up big numerous times and special teams were nearly perfect.

But the Bears were out-coached when it mattered most.

Again.

The solution for GM Ryan Poles is so clear: He needs to fire Eberflus and put together a top-notch staff that gets this group where it wants to go.

No skimping and no cutting corners. Find the best available offensive-minded coach and bring him in.

Then - and only then - can Fields and Co. truly succeed.