LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson is leaving no uncertainty for his former team, the Detroit Lions, when they come to Soldier Field on Sunday to end the regular season.
“Our goal this week is to win,” Johnson said Monday.
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That’s not to say the Bears should coast, even against Johnson’s former owner Dan Campbell and the Lions, who are now out of the playoff picture. The Bears still have the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoffs, can lock in a win, and will also be home to the divisional round if they win their wild-card round playoff game at Soldier Field.
It’s difficult to put up a defensive performance like Sunday night’s 42-38 loss to San Francisco.
Although they gave up a season-worst 496 yards, Johnson seemed to be trying to boost the defense’s confidence.
They did get a pick-6 on the first play of the game on a scrimmage by linebacker TJ Edwards, the first time that’s happened in an NFL game since Week 2 of 2023. They also forced the 49ers’ first punt since late November.
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“It always comes back to fundamentals, so it’s gap integrity in terms of run defense,” Johnson said of stopping the 49ers. “You know, our offense is really good right now. So I think that needs to be said because they’ve averaged 35 points a game the last five weeks. So they’re hot.
“I felt like our offense didn’t play as well as it should have in the first half. We didn’t run the ball. We had a couple of three-and-outs. You look at our defense, they had a pick-six, they had a couple of punts, and if we bow out in the red zone, I think we feel better about how (the defense) performed, and that’s not to take anything away from San Francisco, they did a great job, but there are definitely things that fundamentally we can improve on and we’ll look to speak out this week.”
Perhaps the most troublesome aspect for the Bears is the red zone defense.
In Week 16, Green Bay went 0-for-5 with a touchdown in the red zone. The 49ers went 5-for-5.
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“Every week is a little different,” Johnson said. “Every offense has a different red zone story. They execute their plans better than we do.”
They hope to improve that plan on Sunday, or they could get the No. 3 seed in the playoffs.
what’s working
pass. Caleb Williams set a season-high 330 passing yards on Sunday, and the Bears accomplished that despite the absence of receiver Rome Odunze with a foot injury and receiver Olamide Zaccheaus due to illness. Even though tackle Darnell Wright was unable to join the team on Saturday’s flight to California due to illness, their pass blocking was still there.
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On Sunday, the day of the game, Wright flew in alone.
What help do you need?
Run defense. They gave up 200 yards rushing, 8 more than they had the week before when they struggled, and it looked even worse. Christian McCaffrey ran for 41, 17 and 16 yards for a season-best 140 yards, but the 49ers have struggled against the run all season. They averaged 3.6 yards per carry in the game, second-to-last in the NFL.
Stock up
WR Luther Burden. The rookie shook off an ankle injury against Green Bay and had a career-high eight catches for 138 yards while also catching a touchdown pass. He appeared in just 38 of 66 offensive games.
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Inventory decline
WR DJ Moore. He went from being a star with a spectacular 46-yard touchdown catch against Green Bay in the overtime win to having just one catch for 7 yards against San Francisco. In Moore’s defense, he was added to the injury report just as injuries were ravaging the team, yet he exited the game and played in 92 percent of the offensive snaps.
Injuried
Linebacker Noah Sewell suffered an Achilles injury on Sunday, but Johnson did not provide an update on its severity. NFL Network reported Sewell suffered a torn Achilles tendon. … Defensive end Joe Tryon-Shoyinka is receiving treatment for a concussion in the NFL.
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key number
23rd – After Sunday’s game, Williams has gone 23 games without an interception in his career. No starting NFL quarterback has done this in his first two NFL seasons. Williams broke Dak Prescott’s previous two-season mark of 22 games without one.
Next steps
The Bears are seeking revenge for a 52-21 loss in Week 2 in Detroit to the Lions (8-8), who have lost three straight.
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl