Ben Johnson had one day back at Halas Hall before the Chicago Bears had to start on the New England Patriots, and the head coach made clear on Tuesday that the win in Atlanta was already behind them. “This week in particular, you got to turn the page extremely quickly,” Johnson said. “We enjoyed the plane ride home and, you know, when we came back in yesterday, we turned the page really quick and didn’t even really touch a whole lot on that game.”
The Bears are 4-2 after Sunday’s 31-23 win over the Falcons, and they host the 4-2 Patriots at Soldier Field on Thursday, October 22, at 8:15 p.m. ET (3:15 a.m. Friday in Cairo). “We know how big it is to string good performances back to back to back in this league,” Johnson said. “That’s what the good teams do and that’s what we’re looking to do here this week.”
“That combination is deadly”
Asked what stands out about Drake Maye on tape, Johnson described a quarterback who can beat a defense two ways. “Well, it’s a dangerous combination of a guy that’s an elite deep ball thrower, along with, he can crush you with his legs also,” he said. “And I think that combination is deadly. And it’s really picked up steam over these last three games. You can see that their offense is putting up points in bunches right now. Three-game winning streak and a ton of explosive plays throughout. And so when you look at it that way, he’s a big challenge.”
He also gave credit to New England’s offensive coordinator. “Josh McDaniels does a great job just making sure he puts those guys in the right spots,” Johnson said. “Even if they’re down some O-linemen, he’ll do a great job making sure he has that in mind and showcase what the rest of their guys can do.” New England coach Mike Vrabel said on Tuesday that linemen Ben Brown and Alijah Vera-Tucker are “probably not” available for Thursday.
Johnson opened by calling the Patriots “a really good opponent” with “a lot of respect for what they’ve put on tape so far.” “It’s a sound, it’s a smart, it’s a physical operation, and our guys know what we’re stepping into here on Thursday,” he said. He said the New England front is “very difficult to move” on the inside, that the linebackers are “playing at a really high level,” and that he did not know a lot about the edge rushers by name. “And yet when you turn on the tape, they are darn good,” he said. “And they’re going to be a big challenge for our tackles in one-on-one situations.”
Dennis Allen and the pressure package
Chicago’s defense held Atlanta to 257 yards on Sunday, and cornerback Kyler Gordon had three sacks and two forced fumbles in his first game of the season. Asked about defensive coordinator Dennis Allen’s blitzes, Johnson said: “I think he’s always been known to have a great pressure package, primarily on third down there. And so that’s kind of been the thing over the last year and a half, is, man, how often can we get into those third-and-longer opportunities and get guys off schedule on first and second down to get more of those reps.”
“You don’t know who’s going to be the guy that pops free on a lot of these things,” he said, “but when you’re doing it and you’re hitting the right landmarks, I think it’s very challenging for an offense, particularly on a short week like this.” In Year 2 of the system, he said, “you see them playing faster, I think you see us tighter in coverage on the back end, and then certainly I think there’s less space for the quarterback to step up into or evade and get out of the pocket.”
Johnson also recalled what Allen told him when the two first talked about the job. “It’s like, man, we’re going to get these guys to play hard in our style of football,” he said. “He was less concerned about necessarily the talent on the roster and he was more excited about the opportunity to come to this building and, you know, the history and legacy that comes with being a Chicago Bear.” He said Allen’s defenses have always played “with their hair on fire,” and that “it doesn’t happen overnight.” “Last week was a great indicator of the style of football that we want to play as a team,” he said.
Next men up
The Bears will again be without starting defensive ends Montez Sweat, who is serving a two-game suspension, and Dayo Odeyingbo, who is on injured reserve with a quadriceps injury. Asked how he knows backups are ready, Johnson said they are coached up all the time in practice. “Doesn’t matter if you’re playing or not,” he said. “You can never have enough pass rushers. And so you don’t know when that time is, but these guys need to be ready when that time is called upon, and I have a lot of confidence in guys right now. We’ll see whether they get opportunity or not, but I know all of them will step up to the occasion if that presents itself.”
“A flash in the pan isn’t enough”
Johnson said all three phases were challenged before the Atlanta game, with swarming to the ball and takeaways at the center of the message. “All that came to fruition, and it’s a credit to those guys,” he said. “But like I’ve been saying really throughout, this is just, a flash in the pan isn’t enough, and that’s something that we have to do every single week.” He added that this week will be harder: “On a short week, their bodies might not feel 100%, and yet play with that same relentless attitude and demeanor, play in and play out.”
Asked how he handles the condensed game-planning, Johnson admitted it is a struggle. “Yeah, I wish I had the answers for that one,” he said. “I always struggle as a coach of wanting to do more.” His answer this week is to trim the plan. “For us, it’s just a matter of scaling it back, streamlining it to where they can play fast, they can play clean,” he said. “If we have another high-penalty game like we did last week, that’s not going to play in our favor against a good team like this.” The Bears were flagged 12 times for 133 yards in Atlanta.
Chicago puts the finishing touches on its plan on Wednesday. The Patriots won the last meeting, 19-3 at Soldier Field in November 2024, when they sacked Caleb Williams nine times.
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