Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson speaks during Training Camp at Halas Hall.
Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images
The Chicago Bears are hoping for another strong season under head coach Ben Johnson. Johnson's team took on the Cincinnati Bengals in a NFL preseason game on Saturday. The Bears head coach wasn't too happy, following a 27-9 loss.
“Overall it doesn’t matter if it’s preseason or not, it’s a bad feeling in that locker room when you lose,” Johnson said, per the Chicago Tribune. “Particularly when it’s like that, and it’s by multiple scores and you don’t feel like you make it closer at the end.”
It was messy. The Bears were flagged 11 times in the game. Chicago's quarterback Caleb Williams also finished his night with just two completions.
“I have to go back and watch the tape,” Johnson said when asked to talk about Williams’ performance. “He gained nine more reps, I know that.”
Chicago ran more plays in the game than Cincinnati, but the Bears struggled to convert on third down. The Bears were just 2-for-14 on third down conversions in the contest. This is a recurring trend.
“Especially after only converting 33.3 percent of their third downs against the Cleveland Browns in the preseason opener, it is concerning that the Bears are struggling so much on third down. Third down efficiency is crucial for success in the NFL and if this horrible third down performance translates to the regular season, Chicago is going to have a lot of problems,” USA Today reported.
The Bears enter 2026 with Super Bowl aspirations. Chicago made the NFL Playoffs in 2025 under Johnson. It was a dramatic turnaround from the year before.
The Bears have one NFL preseason game remaining before the regular season begins. Chicago will take on the Tennessee Titans on August 29.