Ben Johnson defends his risky fourth-down passing play that sealed a loss. He details the options and the hope for a yardage gain.
The Chicago Bears almost came back and tied the game late against the Green Bay Packers, but fell short.
The Bears were down 28-21 with around 3:30 to go, but Caleb Williams and the offense went to work. The game came down to a 4th-and-1 on the Green Bay 14-yard line.
Head coach Ben Johnson elected to pass, using a bootleg with Williams, but the quarterback threw an interception to seal the win for Green Bay. Williams targeted tight end Cole Kmet, but D.J. Moore was open and could've walked in for an easy touchdown.
The decision to pass there was an interesting one, given how well Chicago ran the ball in the second half. The situation definitely called for a run instead of a passing play.
After the loss, Johnson went to the podium and was asked about the decision. He stated that
"Yeah, we had a lot of options there, don't know exactly who's gonna pop there necessarily, but between the options we have and then Caleb using his legs, was hopeful we could find a way to get a yard there," Johnson said.
Even though Chicago lost, it still has many key football games left to play. Three of the Bears' last four games are against NFC opponents.
The Bears take on the Cleveland Browns next, before facing the Packers again. Then, they take on the San Francisco 49ers and finish the regular season against the Detroit Lions.
The loss means that the Bears fall to second place in the NFC North. When it comes to the NFC playoff race, things have changed.
Chicago is no longer the No. 1 seed, as the Los Angeles Rams reclaimed it after beating the Arizona Cardinals 45-17. Chicago is now the No. 7 seed, and Green Bay moves into the No. 2 spot.
The Philadelphia Eagles are at No. 3, followed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The other Wild Card spots belong to the Seattle Seahawks and the 49ers.
Hopefully, a return home will do the Bears some good ahead of their next meeting with the Packers in two weeks. The Browns are struggling, coming into the next game at 3-10 after a 31-29 loss to the Tennessee Titans.
It will be the second time this season that Chicago has faced a rookie quarterback. The Bears beat the New York Giants and Jaxson Dart 24-20 earlier this season and now take on Shedeur Sanders and the Browns.
Kickoff will be at noon CT on Fox.