After watching tape of Sunday's loss to the Lions, Bears coach Ben Johnson spoke to reporters Monday via Zoom about three things that stood out in the game:
(1) Johnson felt that Caleb Williams showed considerable improvement—especially going through his reads—from the season opener.
The second-year quarterback completed 19 of 30 passes for 207 yards with two touchdowns, one interception and a 91.9 passer rating versus Detroit.
"I did see significant growth," Johnson said. "It's not perfect yet. There's still a number of plays where our eyes aren't quite in the right position or we're holding onto the ball just a tick longer than what we're coaching.
"But I did see tremendous growth in terms of going through the progression. There were a few times there where we had to get to number three or four in the read and he was trusting his feet and his footwork and was able to get there. I did think he got better from Week 1 to Week 2. I'm encouraged by what I saw and I'm hopeful that we'll continue to see another leap here this week."
(2) Johnson discussed the defense's inability to pressure Jared Goff and vowed to improve that aspect of the game Sunday against the Cowboys.
The Bears registered four quarterback hits in Detroit, but had no sacks.
"Step No. 1 for us going into this game was trying to affect the quarterback," Johnson said. "We came up short in that regard. And we know with that particular player, when his pocket is clean, that he plays at a really high level. He's a very accurate player.
"We're going to have to try to find a way, whether it's within the four that we're rushing, to generate more pressure, condense the pocket and collapse it from the inside. Or whether that means we need to pressure a little bit more, we'll find a way. I've got faith in the unit. I've got faith in the defensive staff to find a way to get a little more pressure on the quarterback."
Johnson wants the defense to play with an aggressive edge like it did this summer.
"We've seen that type of football and brand of football that we want to be about," he said. "We saw it throughout training camp. We didn't see it enough [Sunday] for it to be our standard. That's truly the way the game went. We got outgained by a significant number of yards. It really came down to 10 explosive plays for over 300 yards. That's just really not what we want to be about.
"We came into the game with a plan in how we wanted to contain these explosive athletes, and we just didn't do a good enough job. I think it starts with how we play, less so about the scheme or anything like that. But our play style really needs to stand out in a more positive fashion going forward."
(3) Johnson was pleased that the Bears scored a touchdown on their first possession for the second straight week. But he wants to see more consistency from the unit throughout the rest of the contest.
After Williams connected with receiver Rome Odunze for their first of two TD passes to tie the score 7-7, the Bears' next four drives resulted in a punt, lost fumble, turnover on downs and interception.
"I'm happy with the fact that we've been able to score touchdowns on the first drive, but we've got to find a way to run the ball early in the game," Johnson said. "We've got to find a way to not shoot ourselves in the foot with penalties early in the game. We've got to stay on schedule, not have these third-and-longs. That is a big part of the equation.
"We're not playing consistently clean football as an offense. When we do, we're an explosive team. We've got significant playmakers across the board, but we haven't put it together for a consistent basis quite yet."
(3) Johnson was pleased that the Bears scored a touchdown on their first possession for the second straight week. But he wants to see more consistency from the unit throughout the rest of the contest.
After Williams connected with receiver Rome Odunze for their first of two TD passes to tie the score 7-7, the Bears' next four drives resulted in a punt, lost fumble, turnover on downs and interception.
"I'm happy with the fact that we've been able to score touchdowns on the first drive, but we've got to find a way to run the ball early in the game," Johnson said. "We've got to find a way to not shoot ourselves in the foot with penalties early in the game. We've got to stay on schedule, not have these third-and-longs. That is a big part of the equation.
"We're not playing consistently clean football as an offense. When we do, we're an explosive team. We've got significant playmakers across the board, but we haven't put it together for a consistent basis quite yet."
