Fans, media members, and even players alike celebrated when the Chicago Bears hired Ben Johnson to be their next head coach. After three great years running the Detroit Lions' offense, he was the most sought-after assistant coach in the hiring cycle.
Fast forward to today, and the fans may not feel as encouraged about this team as they were just a couple of weeks ago. If anything, they might not want anything to do with Coach Johnson anymore.
Granted, it's still quite young in this tenure, but Bears fans have been through enough to realize that things usually get worse before they get better with their head coaches. And once again, Johnson's decision-making held the team back.
Ben Johnson's Playcalling Was Questionable
The Bears hit the ground running with their scripted drives at the beginning of the game, and it looked like they could legitimately hold their ground against Johnson's former team. As you may know by now, that didn't last long. Kelvin Sheppard made adjustments, and the Bears didn't.
Johnson called a quarterback sneak on a 3rd-and-1 play that was closer to two yards than to one yard. Then, when they failed to convert, he doubled down on it with another quarterback sneak on 4th-and-down. The Bears turned it over on downs on their own 37-yard line.
The Bears failed to convert on either of their fourth-down attempts, and all pass-catchers not named Rome Odunze failed to get anything going. Again, Caleb Williams' overthrows and poor decision-making also played a role in that, but the coach didn't do much to help his case, either.
All in all, the Bears generated 340 total yards, turned the ball over twice, and were held to just seven points in the second half.
Penalties Continue to Hurt the Bears
Once again, the Bears were constantly dealing with 1st-and-long situations and giving up first downs due to indiscipline.
They followed last week's 12-penalty outing with eight penalties in Week 2. And while that means they should have zero penalties in Week 4 if they keep this pace up, that's not how it usually works, unfortunately.
The Bears lacked discipline and focus, and that's ultimately on the head coach. Even Johnson looked overwhelmed and over his head on the sidelines, and it's hard to make the players believe when even he didn't seem to think they had a chance to win this game.
Penalties are all about preparation and accountability. It's early, and it's been just two games, but this is a worrisome trend that needs to be addressed right now. Johnson has taken accountability, but that's not enough.
Things should be easier at home against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 3, but the pressure is already on, and failing to win that game could pretty much doom the season before it even started.