The Chicago Bears' pass rush has been a point of contention throughout the 2025 season and will remain a hot topic of conversation leading into Week 4 against the Las Vegas Raiders. Through three games, the Bears have recorded just five total sacks, which is tied for 25th in the NFL, while their 69.3 pass rush grade ranks 16th on Pro Football Focus.
After picking up the first win of the Ben Johnson era this past weekend, the offense finally resembled the passing game that fans expected to see from quarterback Caleb Williams and Co. after Johnson was hired. With that unit seemingly rounding into form, the Bears HC provided his defensive front with some added motivation on Wednesday during his time with the media by going out of his way to praise the Raiders' top sack threat, Maxx Crosby.
Ben Johnson's Praise of Maxx Crosby Is a Challenge to Bears' Pass Rush
“It starts with Maxx Crosby,” Johnson said when identifying the biggest threat on Las Vegas' roster, via Kole Noble of A to Z Sports. “In my opinion, he’s a Top-5 player in this league on defense and probably doesn’t get the recognition that he deserves. He’s all over the place, relentless, high motor, and you have to account for him and know where he’s at every snap. He wrecks drives, that’s what he does.”
Bears fans are quite familiar with Crosby as he was the same pass rusher that Chicago was linked to in trade speculation during the 2024 campaign, before Crosby ultimately agreed to a three-year, $106.5 million extension in March of this year. A player with that type of track record when it comes to getting after the quarterback would have been welcomed with open arms by fans in the Windy City.
Judging from Johnson's comments, the Bears' head coach is certainly aware of the 34.5 sacks Crosby recorded from 2022 to 2024 as well. While part of these remarks from Johnson are showing respect to your upcoming opponent, this type of over-the-top praise for a player not on your roster is almost certainly a method to motivate the pass rushers on Chicago's roster.
Nothing good will come from allowing opposing quarterbacks to sit comfortably in the pocket and pick apart a secondary. The starters in the front seven on defense know this, as do the coordinators and coaches on that side of the ball. Five sacks through three games isn't going to get the job done, and Johnson is reminding them of that with his praise of this week's opponent.
Until this defensive front can figure out a way to consistently get pressure on the quarterback, the Bears will continue to allow one of the league's highest passer ratings for opposing signal-callers. That is a major problem for Johnson and the coaching staff, as the team's rating of 110.0 is fifth-worst in the NFL and a recipe for disaster in the long haul.