Bears' defense continues slide amid changeover from Matt Eberflus to Eric Washington

Chicago Bears defensive coordinator Eric Washington chats with players during warm-ups before the Bears take on the Tennessee Titans at Soldier Field, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. | Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times

If Bears defensive coordinator Eric Washington thought his defense “failed to meet the mark in terms of anything that could be considered an acceptable performance” against the 49ers in his debut as play caller, what exactly would he call the effort that led to a 30-12 thumping by the Vikings on Monday?

Stunningly, other than the loss, he thought the defense played decently.

“The response to some of the situations we were put in was really, really good,” he said Thursday. “It…