The Chicago Bears have lost their first two games under Ben Johnson, and the coach is not pleased with the overall effort he has seen from his players.
Johnson has called out Bears players multiple times this week over their level of effort. The first was on Monday, when he said Chicago’s coaching staff will be monitoring practice heading into Week 3 to see which players want to be a part of the game plan.
Johnson suggested there were times during Sunday’s 52-21 loss to the Detroit Lions when Bears players lost focus.
“The way that we’ve talked about it as a coaching staff going into this week is we’re gonna have a lot more competition. I’ve alluded to it before — what these guys look like when the ball’s not in their hands, that’s a big deal for us,” Johnson said. “There were some plays there (on Sunday) where we weren’t quite as pleased with what that looked like on tape. So, we’re gonna find out this week at practice who wants to practice hard and who wants to be a little bit more involved with the game plan here going into Sunday.”
"We're going to find out … who wants to practice hard, and who wants to be a little bit more involved with the game plan here going into Sunday."
— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) September 15, 2025
Ben Johnson didn't mince words 😳
(via @ChicagoBears) pic.twitter.com/nD9CQCzxZA
That was mild compared to the way Johnson criticized his players on Wednesday. Johnson bluntly told the media that the Bears’ practice habits have not reflected those of a championship-caliber team.
Ben Johnson: "Our practice habits are yet to reflect a championship caliber team" pic.twitter.com/I358LTJO99
— Dave (@dave_bfr) September 17, 2025
The Bears looked like they were going to cruise to an easy win in Week 1, but they blew a huge lead as J.J. McCarthy orchestrated a historic comeback for the Vikings. Johnson was unhappy with the way his players let up in that game. Chicago was then dominated by Johnson’s former team on Sunday, which had to have stung even more.
Johnson may be a first-time head coach, but he comes from a winning culture in Detroit. The Bears have missed the playoffs the last four years, and Johnson does not feel his players are showing enough urgency to try to end that drought.
