The Chicago Bears had a long weekend after beating the New England Patriots on Thursday night, and Ben Johnson said he used it to get away. “I shut it off,” the head coach said on Wednesday, to some laughter. Now the 5-2 Bears face what he called “a tough opponent” on Monday night: the Seattle Seahawks, who won the Super Bowl last season and held the Kansas City Chiefs to three points on Sunday. “There’s talent in all three phases,” Johnson said. “Really well coached throughout, and it will be a big challenge on the road in a hostile environment as well.”
“Pretty, pretty astonishing”
Johnson said Seattle’s pass defense starts with its pass rush. “They’ve got good rushers, and they’re able to affect the quarterback without having to pressure a whole lot on passing downs,” he said. “When you’re able to do that with just four rushers, I think it’s really hard to get guys open with a lot of space.” The Seahawks take away explosive plays and make offenses string together long drives, he said, and many never get going at all. “The number of three-and-outs on tape is pretty, pretty astonishing as well,” Johnson said. “It’s hard to run the ball, hard to throw the ball, and it’s going to take a team effort here to win this one.”
He pointed to the Chiefs game as an example. Kansas City had eight possessions, he said, one at the end of the first half and one when it was already down by multiple scores. “You call it six legit possessions where they’re able to run their offense, and they were able to move the ball a little bit, but when you look up at the end of the game they only have three points, and it’s like, holy cow, where did it all go wrong?”
His message for his own team was simple. “We can’t beat ourselves,” he said. “The last couple weeks we’ve shot ourselves in the foot a little bit on the penalty front. That’s not going to win us the game this week. We’ve got to do a great job taking care of the football, and our style of play has to show up.”
Caleb Williams “loves that criticism”
Asked why Caleb Williams has been getting the ball out a little quicker, Johnson said it comes from time spent in the same concepts. “All these banked reps and the things that he’s seen each play against coverage, it does accelerate his ability to go through a progression and check the ball down,” he said. The coaches review each week whether Williams could have stayed in the pocket “just a tick longer” or needed to break it, but Johnson said they do not want to change his style. “We don’t want to take that magic out of his play whatsoever. And yet I do think you’re seeing just a tick more of him playing on time and on rhythm, and I think that allows our pass catchers to come alive.”
What he likes most, he said, is Williams’ mindset. “No one’s more critical of him than himself at this point,” Johnson said. “He loves that criticism. He loves to take that, and he chews on it, gets a little time out of the building, chews on it, and then he comes back and just had a great walk-through.” He said Williams has “matured a lot” at taking a game plan, downloading it and bringing it to life quickly.
More snaps for Daniel Hardy
Montez Sweat has played five games after missing two while suspended, and Johnson called him a “steady Eddie” against the run while admitting his pass-rush numbers are not as high. He said teams slide protection toward the player seen as the premier rusher. With Sweat out, others stepped forward. “I like to highlight Daniel Hardy,” Johnson said. “I think he’s done as good of a job as anybody affecting the passer these last two weeks, and a guy that certainly warrants a little bit more playing time on defense as well.” He hopes Hardy, Austin Booker and defensive coordinator Dennis Allen’s pressure package can get Sweat more one-on-one chances.
Asked about cornerback Jaylon Johnson, Ben Johnson said there have been “some ups and downs” and that the staff grades every player on “winning performance versus losing performance” each week. “Guys that are stepping up in their opportunities, they warrant more playing time,” he said.
Witherspoon, Fleury and a new guard in Seattle
Johnson said Seahawks cornerback Devon Witherspoon is “up there” with the best defensive backs the Bears have faced. “He’s feisty. Great instincts. Finds a way to get around the football, finish around the football,” he said, noting that Seattle now plays him outside more than in the slot. He also spoke about Seahawks offensive coordinator Brian Fleury, whom he overlapped with in Miami. “He’s always been super sharp. Does not surprise me to see the success that he’s having,” Johnson said. He said Seattle’s offense runs through receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who is getting double-digit targets “almost every game,” and that the run game will be a focus “with the trade that they had yesterday.” Seattle acquired guard Quenton Nelson from the Indianapolis Colts on Tuesday.
Asked about his role with the trade deadline less than two weeks away, Johnson said it is general manager Ryan Poles’ domain but that the two are in constant dialogue. “He’s turning over every stone that he possibly can to improve this football team,” Johnson said. “We’ll see what happens. Never know.” He added that after the next couple of weeks the staff will do a deeper self-scout during the bye. “We’re winning games and we’re scoring some points,” he said, “but we still need to see that steady improvement that we’ve been talking about all year long.”
The Bears play at the Seahawks on Monday, November 2, at 8:15 p.m. ET, which is 3:15 a.m. Tuesday in Cairo.
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