Ben Johnson frustrated despite win against Chiefs

Ariana Pensy · Correspondent · 6 hours ago

CHICAGO - The Chicago Bears finished the preseason without a loss after defeating the Kansas City Chiefs 29-27.

While head coach Ben Johnson was relieved to come away with the victory, he was incredibly disappointed in how the starters played in all three phases of the game.

“Nice to come away with a win in that game. I thought a number of guys played their tales off, particularly in the second half,” Johnson said. “Was not the start we wanted from our ones on offense, defense or special teams. It was a little bit disappointing to see how slow we started.”

Chicago’s defense was unable to contain Chiefs’ quarterback Patrick Mahomes II as he completed eight passes for 143 yards for a touchdown and finished with a quarterback rating of 124.8. Mahomes II added an 18 yard run as well. In the run game, Kansas City had 102 rushing yards and two touchdowns.

The Bears’ defense also had multiple pass interference penalties.

“Defensively, we didn’t feel like we controlled the line of scrimmage very well. We gave up some explosive plays,” Johnson said. “We had some costly penalties and we couldn’t stop them when they got down there in the red zone. So, that wasn’t good on that side.”

On offense, Chicago only mustered 10 points through the first three quarters compared to Kansas City’s 27 points in that span. When the first-team offense was on the field, they were rather sloppy and quarterback Caleb Williams was sacked after holding onto the ball too long.

Running back D’Andre Swift had some good plays, but the starting offense overall was unable to produce points for most of the first three quarters and especially in the first half.

“Offensively, first two possessions (were) really sloppy football that has plagued us in and out of camp so far and unfortunately, that’s what we got here tonight. There (were) a number of things we could have done a better job of,” Johnson said. “I felt Swifty come to life a little bit. I thought he was going to give us a spark and then finally, we were able to get a field goal and then the two-minute right before half. That was a good thing to see. We hadn’t really had much success before halftime in the two-minute drill. So, was pleased to see that.”

Swift finished the game with seven rush attempts for 28 yards and was Chicago’s leading rusher in the game.

He will be expected to play a large role in the Bears’ offense this year and despite how the starting offense played as a whole against Kansas City, Johnson liked what he saw out of Swift.

“He’s hitting it hard. He’s decisive. I’ve seen him turn on the gas when he sees a little crease. So, he’s dynamic and he is explosive. You feel that,” Johnson said. “He showed that again (Friday night) and so, I felt and what I appreciated - third and one, you could see him see a little bit and then turn on the gas and put his shoulders down to get us a first down. So, those are areas that we’ll continue to harness out of him.”

The second string really carried Chicago to victory led by quarterback Tyson Bagent who finished the game completing 20 of his 28 pass attempts for 212 yards and three touchdowns, including the game-winning six-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Jahdae Walker.

Defensive lineman Daniel Hardy helped turn the momentum in favor of Chicago when he strip sacked Chiefs’ quarterback Chris Oladukun and the fumble was recovered by defensive lineman Zaach Pickens.

“Second half was really a different story. Guys came out, they played hard. But, you have a blocked kick and things like that on (special) teams, you don’t feel good about and then for us to come away with the win there at the end was really remarkable,” Johnson said. “Individual performances stood out. Daniel Hardy, I thought, was tremendous. Getting the sack, fumble, that was huge for us and that really changed the game and then Jahdae Walker, in particular on that last drive, was outstanding.

Now comes the hard part - cutting the team down to the final 53-man roster. The deadline to finalize the roster is Tues. Aug. 26 at 3 p.m.

There are a lot of players who have made plays and have a real chance to make the roster.

“So, we’ll take a look here at the tape and it’s tough when it’s the last time you’re in the locker room with a 90-man roster and you know what’s coming right around the corner here,” Johnson said. “So, we’ll have some tough decisions to make.”