In the world of sports media, hyperbole and exaggeration are often used to add excitement to the game. However, sometimes these terms lose their meaning and can be overused. Despite this, it is common for everyone to use them from time to time.

However, there are times when things don’t go as planned, even when everything seems to be going well. Such was the case for the Chicago Bears on Sunday when they lost to the Detroit Lions in a truly historic way. According to ESPN 1000, this was the first time an NFL team had lost in regulation with a plus 3 turnover margin and 40 minutes or more of possession time. This came after a string of 48 consecutive wins without losing in regulation.

For three and a half quarters, it seemed like everything was going well for the Bears. They were following their script and winning the game by running the ball well on offense and taking it away on defense. Justin Fields was outstanding in his return and made huge plays with both his arm and legs. The Bears were dominating the game against one of the best teams in the NFC North division.

However, everything fell apart in just four minutes as the Lions scored 17 unanswered points to win by a final margin of seven points. The questions began as people tried to figure out what went wrong. Was it conservative playcalling? Was it an inability to make a stop on defense? Did they fail to capitalize on every opportunity that came their way? Is Eberflus’ HITS program insufficient for building a winning program? Are there simply not enough talented players on the field executing at a high enough rate?

These questions will continue to be debated all week as people try to make sense of another disappointing loss for the Bears against quality competition. It is clear that if they want to win consistently against good teams, they need to perform at their best every single game without any mistakes or missteps along the way.