Bears’ ability to come away with a ‘huge character win’ in Week 4 answers another question about Ben Johnson’s new culture
Sometimes it’s not going to be perfect.
The Chicago Bears’ win in Week 4 was certainly not easy to come by, but the results of Sunday’s game answered another question about what the team will look like under head coach Ben Johnson.
Going into the game, Johnson was eager to see how his team responded to success coming off a big home win against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 4 and wanted to see a much-improved performance on the road compared to what the team showed in Week 2 against the Detroit Lions.
Getting out of Las Vegas after stealing a win like that proved the mentality of this team is starting to turn a corner under this new coaching staff.
Week 4 win is the exact type of win the Bears needed to showcase
“That’s a huge character win for our team,” Johnson told reporters after the game. “I just love it for them.”
Offensively, the Bears struggled to get anything going early despite three first-half takeaways and the fourth that came early in the third quarter. Yet, the Bears got back to their feet, brushed themselves off, and moved on. Defensively, it was the same way after giving up some big plays on the ground, but still managing to hold strong when it mattered.
“It’s easy to get frustrated, but we don’t panic,” Johnson added. “We just don’t. That’s not who we are and that’s not what we do… Everybody stayed the course, and no one panicked whatsoever.”
And yet, three weeks ago, that’s what the Bears did. They panicked in the fourth quarter against the Minnesota Vikings. And they did it again in the following week against the Detroit Lions. Which, in turn, prompted Johnson to send a subtle message to the locker room that the standard wasn’t being met, not the Chicago Bears standard of old, or the new standard he wants to impose.
It took some early hiccups, but Sunday’s win was a strong signal that the message is continuing to be taken to heart in the locker room, thus creating the beginning stages of the kind of culture Johnson wanted to bring to Chicago.
“Coach said it the other week, the book on this team is that if we get the (explicative) game close, we was going to lose,” team captain Kevin Byard said in the locker room after the game. “And what did we do today? That’s a culture win, fellas. We talk about changing the culture, that’s how you do it, fellas.”
In years past, this is the kind of close game you see the Bears lose, or the kind of game you see completely get away from Chicago by not rolling with the punches. Again, it’s one game, but it’s still another encouraging sign that things are headed in the right direction for this organization.
“I’m proud of our guys. They came through for us,” Johnson explained. “We’re building something special here, and I think they’re feeling it, just the belief they have in each other, the belief they have in this coaching staff, I thought it really showed through. This is a huge win for our team, finding a way in the fourth quarter to come out on top. I just thought that was outstanding for us.”
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