Bears offensive lineman apologizes after strange mental gaffe costs his team
It’s safe to say it hasn’t been the homecoming Doug Kramer Jr. envisioned.
The Bears backup offensive lineman is a Hinsdale, Ill., native who attended Hinsdale Central and the University of Illinois.
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Kramer has been a part of a couple of unfortunate moments on the field that have captured a lot of attention.
First, it was a fumble at the 1-yard line in the 4th quarter of the Bears’ loss to the Commanders on Oct. 27:
Kramer had lined up in the backfield and then-Bears offensive coordinator Shane Waldron called for the Chicago native to take the handoff and plow into the end zone – only for it to end in disaster as the Commanders recovered the ball.
The Bears ended up losing by 3 in that game.
That loss in Washington began the 8-game streak the Bears are currently on.
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Monday night, Kramer had another blunder as he once again entered the game as the up-back leading the way for D’Andre Swift.
Swift plunged into the end zone, giving the Bears what they thought was a much-needed touchdown midway through the 3rd quarter. That would have made it a 1-possession game as the Vikings were only up 13-0 at the time.
However, the touchdown came off the board and the Bears went backwards as Kramer failed to report in as eligible to the officiating crew, drawing a flag.
The Bears ended up with only a field goal on a drive that could have changed the course of the game.
Kramer took responsibility for the gaffe after the game, telling Bears reporters:
“I apologized to all my teammates. Things like that can’t happen,” Kramer said. “…When they threw the flag, I knew it was 100% on me. …You can’t make mistakes like that. It’s the NFL and you need every point you can get. Those are errors that we just can’t make and win games in this league. It’s an unacceptable mistake.”
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It’s the latest mishap in a season that has been full of them for the Bears.
The 4-10 Bears host the 12-2 Lions Sunday afternoon at Soldier Field.