Playoffs? Bears? Coach Ben Johnson keeps calm, but notes 'We know where we are in the NFC right now'
The Bears have a long way to go and a brutal schedule remaining, but the fact is they have a chance at the playoffs at 6-3. They're in third place in the NFC North — close behind the 6-3 Lions and 5-2-1 Packers — and hold the seventh seed in the conference.
"We understand the urgency that’s at hand," coach Ben Johnson said Monday after a 24-20 win over the Giants. "We know where we are in the NFC right now, but the biggest thing and the message to the team is that we’re a 6-3 team that’s looking to get to 7-3."
Here are some other updates from Johnson:
• Johnson raved about right tackle Darnell Wright, who had two highlight-reel blocks: one in which he pushed aside Pro Bowl defensive end Brian Burns as he tried to get past him with a spin move and another in which he blasted safety Tyler Nubin away on a run play.
"Darnell did a heck of a job throughout that game," Johnson said. "Darnell had a couple that he’d like back as well, but overall I was pleased with his play. I have been very pleased with his play over the course of the season so far. On that particular play [against Burns], it’s just a great instance of how strong he is as an individual. He caught Burns in a spin and was able to capitalize on it, so that was great."
• He regretted how the Bears handled Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart's running ability as he racked up 66 yards and two touchdowns on six carries in addition to completing 19 of 29 passes for 242 yards.
"He hurt us more on the designed runs as opposed to necessarily in the passing game," Johnson said. "I'm not taking anything away from him. He played a heck of a game for them and gave us some fits, but we felt like we could fit up those quarterback-designed runs a little bit better and cleaner on our end, and that would make us feel a little bit better about that game as a whole."
• He was critical of his offensive play-calling against the Giants and second-guessed a punt on fourth-and-eight at the Giants' 36-yard line in the second quarter.
“It’s the first thing you look at when things aren’t clicking and you don’t feel like you’re in a rhythm as an offense," Johnson said. "I always look in the mirror: What could I do a little bit better there? I didn’t love our third-down plan. When I go back and I look at it, they did a really nice job defending us and we didn’t do enough to counter that, and that’s on me. I’ve got to do a better job of that.
"I know why I did everything in the moment, why I call things. Everything has a reason, and yet when it doesn’t click the way we want it to, then I just question whether I should have done something else. We’re all in it together. I want those guys to understand that I take a lot of ownership in what we put on tape as do they. It’s really important they all understand we’re all in the same boat.”