The Chicago Bears had an encouraging start last season but cratered to lose 10 of their final 11 games. While ineptitude from head coach Matt Eberflus and offensive coordinator Shane Waldron have taken the blame, new head coach Ben Johnson has placed it on his players to fix the mistakes in 2025.
The first step of that process came during OTAs when Johnson reportedly showed some fire as the Bears struggled with their execution before the snap. While it is early in the process, Chicago has continued those mistakes as workouts have continued, leading Johnson to ask for one thing to change next season.
Ben Johnson Wants Bears to Work on Their ‘Mental Toughness’ During OTAs
There are a lot of things that Johnson wants to improve going into his first season in Chicago. But one of the most notable is the Bears’ body language when things go wrong. Johnson went as far as stopping practice as the mistakes continued on Wednesday and even told reporters that his team’s “mental toughness needs to come through.”
“We don’t want to be a ‘palms-up team’ where we’re questioning everything,” Johnson said via The Athletic’s Kevin Fishbain. “No, no, no; to me that’s a little bit of a sign of weakness.”
It’s hard to blame the Bears if they felt like they were on a slippery slope by the end of the year. Chicago started the season by posting a 4-2 record in their first six games, but things changed when Jayden Daniels helped the Washington Commanders win on a game-ending Hail Mary in Week 8. The issues snowballed as the Bears endured a 10-game losing streak and Caleb Williams’s body language came under fire during a Week 15 loss to the Minnesota Vikings.
Johnson also admitted that he needs to work on his reactions as he showed some "agitation" during the early portion of spring practices.
“Yeah, I thought that was normal,” Johnson said via CHGO’s Adam Hoge on May 21. “I’ll work to get my body language under control. I’m talking about that with the players, so I need to do a better job myself. I’m on it.”
This offseason suggests that both sides have some work to do. Williams’s thoughts about the Bears organization before the 2024 draft were made public in Seth Wickersham’s upcoming book “American Kings: A Biography Of The Quarterback” and the Bears’ mistakes seem to have drawn the ire of Johnson early.
If the Bears want to improve, they’ll have to show an ability to roll with the punches and it starts with changing their mindset as they continue to prepare for the 2025 season.