LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — Jaylon Johnson wasn’t all that interested in discussing any bright spots or reasons to have hope for the Bears.
The star cornerback made his feelings clear.
Johnson is in his fifth season with the Bears, and they’ve only made the playoffs once, a brief one-game appearance in the 2020 Wild Card round, his rookie year. With the playoffs all but mathematically out of reach for the Bears for a fourth straight season, Johnson said he’s not moved by progress markers or moral victories anymore.
“I’ve been in slumps four, five years in a row now,” he said Monday. “So, I mean, at the end of the day, I don’t look for, ‘OK, what is going to be better in the future?’ … It will be better when it’s better.
“So, right now, it’s not better. That’s all I can go off of.”
The Bears are in last place in the NFC North entering their Thanksgiving Day matchup in Detroit against the first-place Lions, who are tied with the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs for the NFL’s best record at 10-1.
Chicago is going in the opposite direction, falling to 4-7 after a fifth straight loss, 30-27 to Minnesota in overtime, on Sunday at Soldier Field.
The Bears wiped out an 11-point deficit in the final 22 seconds of regulation, only to come up short again when the Vikings’ Parker Romo kicked a 29-yard field goal.
That finish was a microcosm of the season for the Bears, who could very well be in NFC playoff position if not for just a handful of plays.
Sunday’s game was the third during Chicago’s five-game skid that came down to the final play. The Bears also lost on a Hail Mary at Washington in Week 8 and had a game-ending field-goal attempt by Cairo Santos blocked by Green Bay in Week 11.
Players have openly questioned some of the coaching decisions in recent weeks. Offensive coordinator Shane Waldron got fired before the game against Green Bay, just nine game into his Bears tenure. And head coach Matt Eberflus’ game management came under more scrutiny against Minnesota.
With the Bears trailing 17-10 in the third quarter, there was some confusion on a fourth-and-4 at the Vikings’ 27-yard line. Eberflus said he didn’t do a good enough job communicating on the previous play that they would go for it on fourth down.
That led to a chaotic sequence in which Santos and long snapper Scott Daly ran onto the field, only to get waved off by a lineman. Rookie quarterback Caleb Williams had to rush to get everyone lined up properly in order to avoid a delay of game. He wound up barking out the wrong play, because he misheard the call from offensive coordinator Thomas Brown, and threw an incomplete pass.
“That moment was just like a ‘What is going on?’ moment that we could have avoided,” receiver DJ Moore said.
Playoff chances near zero
Instead of a morale-boosting come-from-behind win, Sunday’s game was another heart-breaking loss for the Bears.
They’ll enter Thanksgiving weekend near the bottom of the NFC standings, tied for 12th place with the Dallas Cowboys and New Orleans Saints. Only the Carolina Panthers (3-8) and New York Giants (2-9) have worse records in the NFC.
Once 4-2 going into their bye week, the Bears are now way out of the NFC playoff picture. Seven teams will make the postseason. According to ESPN’s NFL playoff odds, the Bears now have less than a 1% chance to be one of those teams.
But there are still six games to play, starting Thursday in Detroit, the first of the NFL’s three Thanksgiving Day games.
What’s working
The passing game.
This is the one area where, despite Johnson’s comments, Bears fans should be highly encouraged.
Williams has clearly looked more comfortable in the two games since Brown replaced the fired Shane Waldron as offensive coordinator. The No. 1 draft pick followed up a solid performance against Green Bay by throwing for 340 yards and two touchdowns against the stout Vikings defense.
It was also Williams’ fourth straight turnover-free game and fifth in a row without an interception. So, if nothing else, the Bears can finally say they have a legit franchise quarterback in the making.
What needs help
Field-goal protection.
One week after his game-ending 46-yard field-goal attempt against Green Bay got blocked, Santos had a 48-yarder rejected on his first try against Minnesota. It happened from the same area, in the middle of the line, when the Vikings’ Jerry Tillery knocked down the kick.
“I just think it’s technique,” Eberflus said. “It’s getting your foot down, bracing up there, staying lower. … We just have to do a better job there with that.”
It was the third blocked field goal for Santos this year, the most for Chicago in a single season since it also had three blocked in 2012. He had a 43-yard try blocked in a win over Jacksonville on Oct. 13.
Stock up
DJ Moore.
The Bears have done a better job getting Moore involved under Brown. He caught seven passes for a season-high 106 yards and a touchdown against Minnesota. That gave him 14 receptions for 168 yards the past two games, compared to 13 for 104 yards over the previous four.
Johnson’s 27-yard catch down the middle set up Santos’ tying field goal at the end of regulation. But it’s not just deep shots. The Bears are finding ways to get the ball in his hands, allowing him to turn short passes into bigger gains. He also had a 13-yard run on Sunday.
Stock down
RB D’Andre Swift.
After a string of solid outings, Swift had just 30 yards on 13 carries Sunday. To be fair, he has been dealing with a groin issue, and he was going against the NFL’s No. 1 run defense.
Injuries
The Bears reported no injuries during Sunday’s game, so that was good news on the short Thanksgiving week.
Key number
5-18 — The Bears’ record in one-possession games in nearly three seasons under Eberflus, including a 2-5 mark this year. They are 14-31 overall during Eberflus’ tenure.
Next steps
The schedule certainly doesn’t get any easier for the Bears.
The Thanksgiving matchup at Detroit will be followed by a Week 14 game in San Francisco against the defending NFC champion 49ers on Sunday, Dec. 8, and then a Week 15 Monday Night Football rematch with the Vikings, this time in Minnesota, on Dec. 16.