Although Chicago Bears fans celebrated the team’s Week 4 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders, first-year head coach Ben Johnson was not pleased with the team’s performance. Chicago narrowly escaped Allegiant Stadium with a 25-24 win, but coach Johnson was critical of the product his team put on the field and didn’t even spare himself.
“When you look at it as a whole, it was just … it was a mess, man,” Johnson told the media on Monday. “I’m just not proud of what we put on tape.
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“I think it was a reflection of myself. I always take it personally. I saw us getting better the first three weeks and in a lot of ways on offense and this was just a little bit of a step back for us.”
Looking at some of the stats from the game, it’s easy to see why Johnson voiced this opinion even after the win. The Bears rushed for 69 yards as a team, averaged just 2.7 yards per rushing attempt and converted just one of four red zone opportunities for a touchdown. On the other side of the ball, the Raiders rushed for 240 yards (on 7.7 per carry) and converted two of their three trips to the red zone for touchdowns.
Raiders rookie running back Ashton Jeanty gashed the Bears’ defense with 138 yards on the ground and a touchdown. Jeanty averaged 6.5 yards per carry and the Raiders also got 62 yards from back-up Raheem Mostert on just four carries.
Chicago had to rely on its special teams blocking a Raiders go ahead field goal attempt late in the fourth quarter to secure the win on Sunday. Chicago’s offense took a step back as Johnson said, in Week 4. In the Week 3 win over the Dallas Cowboys, Johnson’s offense averaged 6.8 yards per play as opposed to Week 4 and just 4.2 per play against the Raiders.
Luckily for Johnson and the Bears, Week 5 will provide the opportunity to regroup, rest and refocus with a bye. When they return to the field in Week 6, Chicago travels to the nations capital for an Oct. 13, Monday Night Football showdown with the Washington Commanders at 8:15 p.m. ET.
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