The Chicago Bears are in a tailspin after an 0-2 start to the season, and head coach Ben Johnson has taken to sending clear messages through the media in an attempt to motivate his team.
Johnson took his entire roster to task on Wednesday, September 17, calling out their work ethic during the week and how that has manifested on game days.
“I think our practice habits are yet to reflect a championship-caliber team,” Johnson said flatly.
“We talk about it all the time with the offensive players that our fundamentals, our finish and our technique — they need to show up in walk-through, they need to show up on the practice field. That’s how it shows up on game day,” Johnson continued. “Simple things of how do we properly block? How do we catch the ball? How do we block after the catch? Ball security and things like that.”
Bears’ Run Game Has Been Bad, but Defense Has Played Even Worse
GettyChicago Bears running back D’Andre Swift.
Johnson’s assessment focused the offensive side, which has been an area of concern for the Bears — particularly given their inability to run the football effectively.
Most advanced metrics have Chicago near the very bottom of the league in ground game production, which only makes the job of coalescing harder for a new offensive line the team built this offseason to protect QB Caleb Williams, who took a league-leading 68 sacks last year.
But an even bigger issue facing the Bears is the defense, which has surrendered nearly one point per minute played over the last five quarters.
“[Chicago’s defense] has looked awful for the past five quarters. Even with their pick-six of J.J. McCarthy and a great three quarters to start the season against the Vikings, Dennis Allen’s unit ranks 31st in EPA per play, ahead of only the Dolphins,” Bill Barnwell wrote Thursday. “At times against the Lions, the Bears looked like a junior varsity squad playing bigger, faster, virtually uncatchable varsity players.”
Bears’ Defense Has Crumbled Around Injuries in Secondary
GettyChicago Bears cornerbacks Kyler Gordon (left) and Jaylon Johnson (right).
The Bears essentially haven’t had their two best cornerbacks for the entire season.
Jaylon Johnson, a two-time Pro Bowler who plays on the outside and would be key to the man coverages Allen wants to install missed Week 1 with a groin injury and left last weekend’s game early with another groin issue. Slot cornerback Kyler Gordon, one of the best in the NFL at that position, has missed both contests with a hamstring strain.
Chicago’s secondary has struggled mightily due to the injury absences, which has impacted every other area of the defense in kind.
“It’s a vicious cycle. Because the secondary is in a shambles, Allen can’t play much man coverage, which was a goal for this defense heading into the season,” Barnwell explained. “And without any faith in the cornerbacks, the Bears can’t send extra rushers, with Chicago running the NFL’s fourth-lowest blitz rate. Because they can’t blitz, the Bears don’t get any pressure, with their 20.8% pressure rate good for 28th in the league. And if you don’t get pressure, life’s going to be much tougher on your defensive backs.”
The Bears host the Dallas Cowboys (1-1) on Sunday in what is a must-win game for their playoff chances. Teams that start a campaign 0-2 have hope of fighting their way back into postseason contention based on historical context. However, starting 0-3 in the modern NFL is almost a guarantee that you’re watching the playoffs from home come mid-January.
Chicago is currently a 1.5-point home underdog against Dallas, per ESPN BET.
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