It may have taken a couple of weeks longer than both he and fans of the Chicago Bears hoped, but on Sunday afternoon versus the Dallas Cowboys, Ben Johnson notched the first of what is hopefully many, many wins in his heading coaching career with a 31-14 victory at Soldier Field. And while it wasn’t a perfect performance, it was impressive enough to serve as notice to those who thought the Bears were dead and buried after an 0-2 start.
Don’t count this team out just yet.
After Ben Johnson and the Bears celebrated like maniacs in the locker room after the win, the first-year head coach was able to compose himself and speak with members of the media about what he saw during the victory.
Johnson on what the messaging for his team was during the week… “I told the guys in the locker room our points of emphasis going into the week were playing great situational football, and I’m talking about third down, red zone and two minute, and I thought they really answered that bell. I thought we were statistically better than that team in all three of those areas, and that’s a good formula for us to come out on top this week.”
In the red zone, Dallas scored touchdowns on just 1 of their 4 trips, while the Bears were 2 for 3 in the red zone. Additionally, the Cowboys were 3 for 11 on 3rd downs while the Bears converted on 8 of 14 3rd down plays.
Johnson on seeing his vision come to life in Chicago… “The first two weeks have not gone the way we wanted to, and it’s early, but we gotta get the issues fixed, and I thought the guys were committed to that this week. We had a good week of preparation and they came out and played inspired football today. Good things happen when you’re playing hard, playing physical and playing for the guy next to you, and I thought that’s what happened here today.”
Ben Johnson publicly and privately challenged his team’s effort after their 31-point loss at the hands of the Detroit Lions in Week 2. Throughout the week, we heard of Chicago’s effort and execution in practice being improved, and that was the case on gameday as well.
Johnson on earning his first regular season win… “It’ll be fun for tonight, and then we’re onto the next one. We’re behind the eight-ball here, we’re 1-2 and we gotta get back to .500.”
Chicago heads out west to face the Las Vegas Raiders next Sunday afternoon, and then they’ve got an early bye in Week 5. Assuming the Bears take care of business against a Raiders team that has lost back to back games, they could be heading into a Week 6 showdown with the Washington Commanders with a week of rest, a healthier defense and a collective chip on their shoulder after watching their season get burned to the ground in Washington last year.
Ben Johnson Speaks About the Bears Offense
Johnson on Caleb Williams’ impressive performance… “142.6 passer rating and four touchdowns. I thought he was really good. The thing that you don’t see on the stat sheet is he’s getting a lot more comfortable calling those plays in the huddle. We’re able to get out of the huddle a little bit faster, and we were able to get on the line and operate cleaner as well.”
All of this showed on Sunday. Aside from a shaky three-and-out on the first drive of the game, the Bears offense looked almost exactly how Bears fans imagined it would under Ben Johnson. The combination of explosive plays in the 1st half and a convincing 19-play drive to push the lead to 17 points in the 3rd quarter is vintage Ben Johnson football. Oh, and how about the trick plays that everyone fell in love with in Detroit?
Johnson on adding the flea flicker to the game plan this week… “We have gadgets up every week. I give the staff a lot of credit, they’re going through and watching the tape and finding out things that may or may not fit, whether it was Dallas this year or some of the stuff we were watching of Chicago’s defense from yesteryear. That was really a staff find and like I said, we worked it all week and felt really comfortable calling it this week.”
That’s a long-winded way for Ben Johnson to say, ‘We exploited Matt Eberflus.’
Johnson on Colston Loveland’s injury… “Colston was the only one who didn’t finish the game, he’s got a hip. We’ll see how that looks tomorrow.”
No word yet on Colston Loveland’s injury, but it was encouraging to see the rookie tight end get in the mix early on with a 31-yard receiving on Chicago’s first scoring drive of the game.
Ben Johnson Highlights Key Defensive Performances
Johnson on Tremaine Edmunds getting a game ball… “He was all over the field. 14 tackles, two interceptions, and really came through for us in a big way.”
For my money, this was the best game that Tremaine Edmunds has played in a Chicago Bears uniform, and that was true even before his second interception of the game.
Johnson on Tyrique Stevenson’s bounce back performance… “I thought Tyrique, in general, had a really nice bounce back game. He’s one of those guys, like a lot of us, that we haven’t started the season the way we wanted to, but he’s capable of being a big-time player in this league and I thought he played that way today.”
With Jaylon Johnson sidelined for at least another three games and Kyler Gordon still on the mend, the Bears needed a performance like this one from Tyrique Stevenson. The talent is clearly there for Stevenson to be an impact starter in this league, and that was evident against Dallas.
Johnson on getting pressure on Dak Prescott in the 2nd half… “When you’re up by multiple scores and it turns into a drop back game, it makes it a lot simpler to tee off. They really did a nice job in those situations… The way they finished the game there in the 4th quarter for us was huge.”
Hopefully ‘up multiple scores in the 4th quarter’ is a situation the Bears find themselves in frequently this season and beyond.