Which Chicago Bears were winners in Week 7 vs. Raiders?
Chicago Bears Week 7 Winner No. 3: Jaylon Johnson
Jaylon Johnson entered this game without an interception on the season. He has been one of the most steady cornerbacks in the league over the last few years, but he has not been a high-interception player. He made it a personal goal to take the football away more this year, and unfortunately, he had not been very successful so far. Injuries and bad team defense have not put him in a position to be his best this season, but with a nearly healthy secondary, he was able to make his presence felt against the Raiders.
Johnson finished the game with two interceptions, both coming in the fourth quarter. He even returned one for a pick-six, his first career defensive touchdown. He made sure to hit a money celebration as he let Ryan Poles know he wanted that extension. This was a statement game, and that was a statement play. While he will need to show more of this going forward, it is clear what kind of player Johnson is, and the way he handles himself at such a young age still is exactly the type of player a rebuilding defense should keep around.
Johnson had a couple of pass breakups early in the game but also had a questionable pass-interference call that set up the Raiders in the red zone. He had his share of issues the last couple of years in terms of just being consistent, and the start of this game was the same story. Yet, Johnson's motor and determination show as he was able to make some huge plays even besides the interceptions that he had. It is so obvious how much more confident the secondary and the entire defense are when they have Johnson taking away half the field usually. Extend him, Ryan Poles.
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The Chicago Bears looked good against the Raiders. This was another situation in which the Bears were able to make another bad team look bad. This was a game the Bears should have won even with the situation at quarterback. They were able to take care of business and some of their key players contributed in big ways to make that happen. How will Matt Eberflus look to build on this over the next stretch of games?