The heat is rising at Halas Hall.
First-year Bears coach Ben Johnson delivered a fiery message to his winless team Wednesday about the “championship-caliber” practice habits they’re lacking after dropping two straight games to start the year — including Sunday’s blowout loss to his former Lions team.
“I think our practice habits are yet to reflect a championship-caliber team,” Johnson said, according to the Associated Press.
When pressed to elaborate, Detroit’s former offensive coordinator didn’t hold back, stressing strong finishes.
“We should be going to the football, finishing hard,” Johnson said. “We talk about it all the time with the offensive players that our fundamentals, our finish and our technique, they need to show up in walk-through, they need to show up on the practice field. That’s how it shows up on game day. Simple things of how do we properly block? How do we catch the ball? How do we block after the catch? Ball security and things like that. It’s the little things that you learn in youth league football that even at this level, they make a huge difference.”
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The Bears’ hiring of Johnson, regarded as the most sought-after coaching candidate of this year’s cycle, came with heightened expectations after three losing seasons under Matt Eberflus, who was fired midway through the 2024 campaign.
Partnered with quarterback Caleb Williams, the first-overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, Johnson had the Bears dominating the Vikings for much of their season opener on Sept. 8, only for Minnesota’s young quarterback, J.J. McCarthy, to spoil the ending with a wild 27-24 comeback win.
Williams failed to connect with star receiver DJ Moore with roughly 2:30 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, leaving a potential touchdown on the table.
Johnson also caught flak for a late fourth-quarter decision, in which Cairo Santos’ kick was intended to sail out of the end zone, but instead gave the Vikings more time to chew up the clock.
With the Week 1 loss effectively in the rearview, the Bears shifted focus to a road clash in Detroit against the reigning NFC North champs.
The Lions, coming off a 27-13 loss to Green Bay, pummeled their division rival in the 52-21 win, which featured a fumble and interception from Chicago in the first two quarters.
Star cornerback Jaylon Johnson exited early and is now out indefinitely with a groin injury.
Even as the Bears strive to keep their season on track, some are looking outside of the facility to air their grievances.
Earlier this week, safety Jaquan Brisker appeared to retweet a message on X that conveyed he was unhappy with his role in defensive coordinator Dennis Allen’s system.
“They gotta let @JaquanBrisker get up on that LOS & play in that backfield. DA gotta take them chains off 9,” the message read, to which Brisker allegedly wrote, “Facts. Use me.”
The Bears host the Cowboys (1-1) — who now employ Eberflus as their defensive coordinator — on Sunday.