NFL

Bears fire head coach Matt Eberflus

The Bears should’ve cleaned house — both front office and coaching staff — prior to last offseason, but better late than never. New quarterbacks, almost always, should initiate a regime change, and Chicago failed to adhere to that principle. Consequently, Caleb Williams and the franchise have undergone a lost season. It’s unlikely that general manager Ryan Poles is fired this offseason, but this is a step in the right direction, even if it was inevitable.

I’m not at all opposed to defensive-minded head coaches, but the Bears should focus the upcoming head coaching search on offense-first coaches; playcallers that can assist Caleb Williams in reaching his potential. Suffice to say, a massive decision awaits Poles and the Bears.

Grade: A+

Chiefs 19, Raiders 17

I will never complain about additional stand-alone football. Unfortunately, the NFL adding a Black Friday game — a streaming game, at that — doesn’t create an additional stand-alone game, as this contest coincided with a solid college football slate. Stay in your lane, Roger Goodell.

Kansas City may be the back-to-back Super Bowl champions, but rent is coming due for the Chiefs in January. This iteration of the team simply isn’t great, despite its 11-1 record. The Chiefs continue to skate by, eking out close — and lucky — victory after close victory, eerily similar to the 2020 Steelers. Most of us remember how that ended.

Anyway, let’s focus on yesterday’s game. Patrick Mahomes hasn’t been the standout version of himself this season that we’ve become accustomed to, but the future Hall of Famer keeps finding ways to win. Mahomes finished 26-of-46 with 306 yards and a touchdown in this game. That’ll do when facing the 2-10 Raiders at home.

MLB

Dodgers sign CF Tommy Edman to five-year, $74 million contract extension

Los Angeles — unsurprisingly — continues to lock in talent for the long haul. A decent, but far from terrifying hitter, Edman makes his mark in the field. The Dodgers need the super-utility man most in center field, but he’s more than capable at shortstop and second base, as well.

In limited action last season, Edman hit .237 with six home runs and 20 RBIs. He’ll need to improve on those marks to be worth this kind of money, but the Dodgers seem to have an endless stream of cash. Therefore, keeping Edman around, regardless of the cost, is the most important thing for the club.

Grade: C