Ben Johnson Calls Out Bears’ Player Leaders After Loss to Ravens
Head coach Ben Johnson didn’t mince words following the Chicago Bears’ 30-16 loss to the Baltimore Ravens in Week 8. After watching his club commit 11 penalties for 79 yards — the third time this season they’ve reached double-digit flags — Johnson placed the blame not just on schematic errors or coaching lapses, but squarely on the team’s on-field leaders.
“The penalties, to me, is what stands out first and foremost,” Johnson said. “We still have some of the pre-snap issues … that stuff adds up, and it hurts us.” ([Bear Goggles On][2]) He then turned the spotlight to the locker-room core:
> “Us coaches, we’ve been pounding that drum now for a while, and we haven’t gotten the results we wanted. So, it’s on the leaders here on this team to get us right.”
Johnson’s public challenge of his veteran players signals rising frustration. The Bears had entered the game riding a four-game winning streak, but the performance against Baltimore offered a stark reminder that the momentum was perhaps more fragile than it appeared.
What went wrong?
Penalties: Eleven flags and nearly 80 yards lost. The Bears are currently ranked 31st in penalties and penalty yardage.
Pre-snap mistakes: Johnson called out “occasional not getting lined up quite right; occasional not getting the motion quite right.” These errors, though seemingly minor, impeded consistency.
Critical turnover: With the Bears trailing 16-13 in the fourth quarter, quarterback Caleb Williams’ underthrown ball resulted in an interception, setting up a Ravens touchdown and widening the gap. Johnson later noted: “In my mind, there might have been another option that we could have gotten to.”
Why Johnson called out the captains
It wasn’t simply a critique of the players’ execution — Johnson appeared to be indicting the leadership tier for failing to set the tone. Despite repeated emphasis by the coaching staff on discipline and fundamentals, the mistakes persist. “I really put it on the leaders there in the locker room to get this ship going in the right direction in that regard,” he said. In his view, coaches can install schemes and prepare players, but once the whistle blows, the team leaders must enforce standards on the field.
What comes next
Johnson’s message is clear: the time for talk is over. The Bears must turn internal pressure into external improvement. If the capitalized leadership role continues to falter, the team risks being defined not by potential, but by recurring self-inflicted errors.
The next few weeks will tell whether Johnson’s public challenge motivates the locker room or widens the gap between expectation and execution.