Ben Johnson puts it on Bears players to clean up the sloppy play.
In the aftermath of yet another uneven performance by the Chicago Bears, head coach Ben Johnson delivered a clear—and blunt—message: the mistakes stop with the players.
Chicago’s 30-16 loss to the Baltimore Ravens in Week 8 served as a tipping point. Johnson didn’t mince words: “It’s our first game in a while … when we don’t have some takeaways … when that happens you really gotta play a clean game and we didn’t.”
The problem: sloppy execution
What’s standing in the Bears’ way isn’t a lack of talent—it’s care-less execution. The penalties keep piling up: 11 flags for 79 yards in that Ravens loss alone. The team has recorded more penalties and more penalty yards than their opponents in every game so far.
Johnson called out issues that go beyond the headline stats: false starts, mis-aligned formations, sloppy tempo and motion, and “not getting lined up quite right.”
And the result? A team that looked like it could be ascending — flashes of explosive plays, a rising young quarterback in Caleb Williams, some bright moments on offense—but then self-inflicted wounds kept the Bears from finishing games or sustaining drives.
Accountability in the locker room
Johnson placed responsibility squarely with the team’s leaders. “I really put it on the leaders there in that locker room to get this ship going in the right direction … coaches have been pounding that drum… So it’s on the leaders here.”
That shift is telling: the coach is acknowledging that at a certain point, detail work, drill execution and habit-fixing can’t just be coach driven—they must be player-owned.
So what happens next?
For the Bears, the coming weeks will test whether the foundation Johnson is building can absorb and remove the sloppiness that’s been a recurring theme. Some key questions:
* Can the Bears reduce the number of penalties and poor pre-snap errors? The numbers suggest this is non-negotiable.
* Will the offense finish drives in the red zone instead of stalling? Williams himself noted the need to “find a way to get in the end zone.”
* Will the leaders step up and enforce the habits Johnson is demanding? Because his message is loud: coaches can’t keep making this adjustment for you.
The bigger picture
Johnson came to Chicago with a reputation as an offensive innovator, someone who could revitalize a stagnant unit. But talent alone won’t mask self-inflicted errors in this league. As one analyst noted, the Bears’ “quality control problems” are hampering what could otherwise be a more promising season.
If the Bears get a handle on their execution, the upside is real. But if not, the sloppy habits will continue to define their results—regardless of scheme or player talent. Johnson’s message is clear: the time for excuses is over. The players must commit to cleaner football, or the penalty yards will keep swallowing their progress.
For now, all eyes are on Chicago’s next game—how they respond will say much about Johnson’s vision becoming reality.