The Chicago Bears are still searching for their first win of the Ben Johnson era, after being embarrassed by Johnson’s former team on Sunday.
The Detroit Lions beat Chicago 52-21, silencing all the noise surrounding the Lions after their Week 1 loss, and causing more questions for the Bears, who are now 0-2. One question fans are asking is if this is a time to practice patience, since it’s so early in the year, or if it’s time to hit the panic button, even if it has been just two games.
NFL columnist Jeffri Chadiha recently answered that question in a piece explaining why some teams should be patient, and while others should be panicking. For Chicago, Chadiha argued it’s definitely time to panic. The reason why is that the defense hasn’t looked good, and the Bears’ schedule isn’t letting up anytime soon.
Bears defense considered a cause for concern
Chadiha emphasized that the 0-2 record isn’t the reason for fans to panic, as much as how the losses happened is. Acknowledging the blown lead in Week 1 against the Minnesota Vikings, and the blowout loss in Week 2 to Detroit, Chadiha said the Bears defense has a lot of holes.
"There's been so much discussion about how new head coach Ben Johnson can help second-year quarterback Caleb Williams and that offense evolve, but we're witnessing firsthand how suspect that defense might be all season."Jeffri Chadiha (NFL.com)
While there may be an inclination to chalk the losses up to both teams being really good teams, the Bears are staring down a lineup of really good teams in the coming weeks. As Chadiha highlighted, Chicago has the Dallas Cowboys, Washington Commanders, and Baltimore Ravens in its next five games.
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That means the Bears need to quickly learn how to beat good teams, or they’ll have a really concerning record before even reaching the halfway point of the season.