Bears OL Doug Kramer addresses failure to report on TD run vs. Vikings

Chicago Bears offensive lineman Doug Kramer Jr. has now been spotlighted for two very bad and infamous plays of the 2024 season.

First in Washington, trailing by five points to the Washington Commanders halfway through the fourth quarter, former coaches Matt Eberflus and Shane Waldron called for a goal-line handoff to Kramer, who would fumble the ball and give it back to Washington, who would win the game by three points on a Hail Mary touchdown.

On Monday night against the Minnesota Vikings, with the Bears trailing 13-0, the team would get the ball down to the goal line and run a familiar play. Kramer was brought in at fullback to pave the way for a D'Andre Swift touchdown run, which was nullified because Kramer did not report as eligible.

Instead of the Bears getting a touchdown and bringing it to a one score game, they were pushed back multiple plays after the Kramer lapse, and had to settle for three points on a field goal. Instead of producing a touchdown on their first drive of the second half after once again failing to do anything in the first half, the Bears continued their embarrassing play. Given his two biggest mistakes this season, it got to the point late in the game where ESPN commentator Troy Aikman started noting, with a sound of relief in his voice, when the Bears would call a run play without Kramer on the field.

Following the loss, Kramer was asked about the play in the locker room by reporters and he called it an unacceptable play on his part. Detailing what went wrong on the play, Kramer took responsibility for it, although interim head coach Thomas Brown attempted to take the blame when speaking at his post-game press conference, saying that he could've called a timeout and saved the play if he had known Kramer didn't report.

"Yes, I forgot to report," Kramer told reporters inside the locker room following the loss on Monday night. "Ran on the field, clock was running down, got in the huddle, and ran the play. It's an unacceptable mistake. Obviously I apologized to all my teammates, everyone on the offense. Things like that can't happen, it's 100% mine [fault]. When they threw the flag, I knew it was 100% me. We've been doing it [the play] all year, unfortunately, it just slipped my mind, I ran out there and didn't do it. It's tough."

Indeed it is tough, but it is also a telling moment in what has been a miserable, embarrassing, and downright ugly display of malpractice at every level of the Bears football team. The loss to Minnesota was their eighth straight on the season, with three games remaining against the Detroit Lions, Seattle Seahawks, and Green Bay Packers.

This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Bears OL Doug Kramer addresses failure to report on TD run vs. Vikings