Ben Johnson’s sideline reaction said more about his feelings toward the Bears’ defense in Week 18 than his postgame words
Both sides of the ball struggled against the Detroit Lions in the regular season finale.
The Chicago Bears did not end the regular season against the Detroit Lions the way the team expected after losing, 19-16, despite playing all of the starters in essentially a meaningless game.
Both sides of the ball can shoulder the blame for the final result of that game. The Bears offense, once again, started slow out of the gate while the defense continued to have no answer for slowing down the opposing offense.
Yet, the Bears still kept things close this time around compared to the last time these two teams faced off. However, one decision led to the final nail in the coffin and head coach Ben Johnson’s immediate reaction speaks volumes about the team’s defense.
Ben Johnson regretted decision to punt the ball back to the Lions late in the fourth quarter
After rallying for two touchdowns early in the fourth quarter, the Bears were able to put everything behind them and tie the game up at, 16-16. With just over two minutes remaining, Chicago got a clutch interception on defense to give the ball back to the offense with a chance to take the lead.
However, it was only a three play drive and the Bears had to settle for a punt on fourth-and-five from their own 31-yard-line. It was the right call in that situation, but the team’s head coach immediately regretted the decision based on his sideline reaction where he seemingly said “should’ve gone for it.”
Johnson is known to be an aggressive play-caller but that decision would have been ultra-aggressive. But, the fact Johnson had that reaction showed he had no trust in the defense stopping the Lions offense, even with three timeouts, and for good reason. In just six plays, Detroit marched 39-yards down the field and nailed the game-winning field goal as time expired.
Chicago’s defense, much like the unit did all game, allowed a killer big play (a 26-yard reception on first-down) and that’s all it took to end the game in a loss.
Ben Johnson expressed more frustration with the offense talking to reporters after the game
After the game, Johnson seemed to be more frustrated with the offensive side of the ball and the issues that unit had compared to the way the defense play, which is a fair response.
“We can’t dig ourselves in a hole like that,” Johnson explained. “I was disappointed with the offense as a whole, I let those guys know that and we’ll be better for it. We’ll address it, we’ll get those things cleaned up and we’ll be better for it.”
Chicago’s offense was stagnant from the jump and entered the final quarter of play with zero points to show for it on the scoreboard. It’s inexcusable and frankly the unit is lucky the score was still within arms reach by that point.
“I didn’t feel like that was one of our more elaborate plans, I thought it was one of our simpler plans,” Johnson added. “We need to do a better job executing it, and coaching it up.”
Ultimately, with these comments, Johnson took the high road expressing frustration for the unit that he’s responsible for. Johnson never mentioned the defensive issues after the game and likely won’t until defensive coordinator Dennis Allen speaks with the media later this week.
But again, both sides are to blame at the end of the day. What the Bears showed on the field is a quality of play that can make the postseason a one-and-done experience if it continues on Saturday.
“The stakes are a lot higher here going forward,” Johnson said. “We can’t afford to have a phase, one of our three phases, play like we did today. We’re going to have to pick it up and I’m fired up just thinking about it right now and I know our guys are too.”
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