‘Deja-vu-ish’: Matt Barkley falters, rallies — and comes up short

Matt Barkley inadvertently knocked a reporter’s digital recorder to the floor at his post-game press conference after the Bears’ 30-27 loss to the Packers on Sunday and didn’t skip a beat. He kept right on talking as he stooped to pick up the recorder — didn’t joke about the mishap or acknowledge it at all — and seamlessly finished answering a question about the progress of the Bears’ offense.

Who knows what the future holds for Barkley as the Bears’ quarterback — right now he’s one of a hundred who think they can be somebody in the NFL — but being unflappable and focused is not a bad start for a quarterback at any level. Barkley showed that on the field as well, and while this was hardly a crowning moment — he completed 30-of-43 passes for 362 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions for an 81.7 passer rating — even in defeat Barkley he showed he deserves his shot.

“The guy don’t got no quit, man,” wide receiver Deonte Thompson said. “And he makes us have no quit.”

Barkley failed, succeeded and ultimately came up short as the Bears fell to 3-11. He had three turnovers in a span of 12 plays in the third quarter — two interceptions and a fumble on a sack — as the Bears fell behind 27-10. But with probably everybody at Soldier Field anticipating an ugly finish, Barkley rallied the Bears to 17 unanswered points in the fourth quarter for a 27-27 tie with 1:19 to go, before disaster struck.

“It seems almost deja-vu-ish,” Barkley said. “We’re right there until the end and then it just doesn’t go our way. It’s defeating of course. We hate losing. [But] the effort’s there. It’s just a matter of execution. You hear me say that over and over again. So we’re going to continue to harp on that day-to-day as we … try to finish this season strong.”

After throwing interceptions on back-to-back possessions on passes intended for tight end Daniel Brown (“I just kind of hung on to that too long, hoping he was going to win.”) and rookie wide receiver Daniel Braverman (“I thought Brave was going to cross-face and get around that guy. Didn’t happen that way. I wish I had that back.”), Barkley didn’t flinch.

Finally utilizing Alshon Jeffery, who did not have a catch in the first three quarters but finished with six for 89 yards, Barkley completed 15-of-20 passes for 166 yards and one touchdown in the fourth quarter (a 115.8 passer rating). On back-to-back possessions Barkley drove the Bears 75 yards on six plays for an eight-yard touchdown pass to Alshon Jeffery; and 78 yards on nine plays for Jordan Howard’s nine-yard run that cut the Packers’ lead to 27-24 with 7:34 to play.

He had his chance for glory. But after driving the Bears from the Bears 21 to a first-and-goal at the Packers 3 with 1:50 to go, Barkley couldn’t finish. After a holding penalty on tight end Logan Paulsen put the Bears at the 13, Barkley threw to Cam Meredith for nine yards to the 4. Howard was stopped for no gain on second-and-goal, and on third down Barkley’s pass to a tightly covered Meredith at the goal line near the pylon was deflected by Packers safety Micah Hyde. The Bears kicked a field goal for the tie.

“That was our option vs. cover-zero — to throw to Cam on the quick out,” Barkley said. “And [Hyde] got his hand on it and it didn’t work out. It’s [a play] we kind of got vs. that look during the week. And we won during the week. It just came down to winning your matchup.”