People wondered how Ben Johnson would respond when the Chicago Bears hit their first bout with adversity. He didn’t have to wait long. After taking a 17-6 lead in the opener against the Minnesota Vikings, the team fell apart in the 4th quarter. They allowed 21 unanswered points and couldn’t rally in time. It was another in a long line of painful collapses. However, in years past, everybody knew what came next. The head coach stepped to the podium, hemmed and hawed, and just said they needed to be better.
Matt Eberflus refused to take accountability even when he obviously made crucial mistakes.
Not Johnson. He stepped to the podium after the game. His words were straightforward and blunt. There were way too many mistakes on the field and lots of unnecessary penalties. Johnson admitted the coaching wasn’t good enough, starting with himself.
“We made too many mistakes in the game. Me included.” – Ben Johnson
— CHGO Bears (@CHGO_Bears) September 9, 2025
Make no mistake. Johnson was not the primary reason the Bears lost. He needed better execution from quarterback Caleb Williams and kicker Cairo Santos. Their collective miscues sank the team. Johnson had no intention of airing such grievances after the game. He took the bullets from the media and saved his criticisms for the locker room.
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Ben Johnson has a big job ahead of him.
Losses like this have become far too commonplace for the Bears. With the coaching staff replaced, it is evident that players can’t hide from blame anymore. They were part of the problem, too. Ben Johnson was tasked to coach them up, sure. However, he has another job too. That is to root out the guys who aren’t mentally tough enough to play this game. That is what much of 2025 will be about. Winning is the priority, but Johnson and his staff will be in constant evaluation mode. Everybody on the roster that they inherited when arriving in January should be on notice. Their jobs are not safe. This team is not a winner, and Monday night only reinforced that reality. Johnson’s job is to help find guys who will change that.