Ben Johnson voices growing frustration with the Bears’ passing game but is clear and direct about where the blame truly belongs
The passing game is the only thing holding this offense back.
The Chicago Bears couldn’t have had a better holiday weekend after dominating the Philadelphia Eagles on Black Friday and then taking sole possession of the No. 1 seed on Sunday once the remainder of the Week 13 slate came to a close.
At the same time, this team under head coach Ben Johnson is keeping the main thing the main thing. The margin of error in the NFC is slim and the Bears still have a daunting schedule remaining.
And as good as it looked on Friday, the Bears know that was far from a finished product they showed on the field, particularly in the passing game, due to a variety of factors.
Passing game and accuracy struggles continue to hold the Bears’ offense back
“It’s an area that we’re certainly talking about, there’s no question,” Johnson told reporters on Monday. “I will say in regards to Friday that was one of the more challenging games in terms of the wind. I called an out-breaker to DJ (Moore) early in that game and DJ ran a phenomenal route, and yet when the ball’s in the air that long, that wind was taking care of it. You can see it with the place kickers as well…
“I would say that plays a part but there’s a number of them there where we gotta fundamentally be correct. The primary receiver, when he’s open, we want to make sure we hit them. And then all of our pass catchers, we just harped on it today, we need to be more disciplined in our route detail.”
Looking at the numbers, you might come away thinking it was about subpar game from quarterback Caleb Williams, who finished 17/36 passing with one touchdown and one interception. But, Johnson is absolutely right. The weather clearly played a role in the game, as evident by Jake Elliot’s missed field goals, and Williams had wide receivers falling down mid-route on multiple occasions.
“Everybody’s got a role to play to get this pass game cleaned up,” Johnson added. “It’s not where it needs to be. We’re winning in spite of our passing game, not because of it. None of us are pleased right now.”
That’s not to say Williams was perfect and can’t shoulder any blame either. He falls under that “everyone” umbrella just as much as anyone and had some routine plays that were missed he’d like to have back. Yet, Johnson still made sure to praise the positives he saw from Williams’ game as well.
“What you don’t see is how smooth that operation was on Friday,” Johnson explained. “Maybe you do. I certainly noticed it. I thought that was one of the better jobs he’s had in terms of getting the play call, calling it in the huddle, getting the motions, the shifts, we had a lot of moving parts there in that game to create some eye candy for those defensive players. I thought he executed it well for the most part. I screwed up a play call and he made it right for me. That was good to see.”
As good as he’s progressed in that regard, the Bears need Williams and this passing game to start hitting a stride sooner than later if they want to hold onto this top seed with five games remaining.
Right now, Williams ranks 45th among 52 quarterbacks in completion percentage and 32nd among 33 quarterbacks in completion percentage over expectation. That needs to change, regardless of who’s to blame for the struggles in the passing game.
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