While Chicago Bears fans can acknowledge that the 24-20 win over the New York Giants was not a perfect victory, not many are looking at head coach Ben Johnson as a man who made many mistakes in the game.
The day after the game, Johnson spoke with the media as he and quarterback Caleb Williams watched film from the game, leaving that session kicking himself for some of his play-calling.
“(Caleb and I) just watched the whole game together,” Johnson said in his press conference the day after the game. “He made a number of really, really good plays that we needed in the moment. And there’s a handful of them that you know we talked about, and in hindsight, you might play them a little bit different. Same thing for me as a play caller. There’s a number of calls that I probably want back.”
Chicago's offense struggled to score, managing just 10 points through the first three quarters, which led to some concerns from Johnson. The Bears' head coach took accountability for knowing that it all starts with him.
“It’s the first thing you look at when things aren’t clicking and you don’t feel like you’re in a rhythm as an offense. I always look in the mirror, what could I do a little bit better there.”
Bears fans would necessarily agree with Johnson's assessment
Credit to Johnson for taking accountability for some of the issues the offense had. The offense was able to move the ball with only three drives, not resulting in at least one first down (including the final drive with a kneel-down).
With that being said, the biggest issue was the wide receiver and the wide number of drops in the game. In total, the Bears' wide receivers dropped five balls, including three from Olamide Zaccheaus, a usually reliable pass target.
There were also multiple off-target throws from Williams once again. He completed only 55% of his passes in the win, a continuing issue that will not help him reach his 70% goal by the end of the season.
Read more: Bears finally crushed a nightmare trend in dramatic win over Giants
While Johnson is the type of coach who will always take blame for when the team fails and give credit to his team when they succeed, the play-calling was not the problem in this contest. The execution of the players can be more consistent throughout all four quarters.