
The Chicago Bears are 4-2, but head coach Ben Johnson knows that there are still things the team could be better at.
Chicago is coming off a 26-14 win over the New Orleans Saints on Sunday. The defense was solid, forcing four turnovers, but Chicago didn't capitalize as well as it could've in the win, especially in the red zone.
The Bears got out to a 20-0 lead in the first half, scoring two touchdowns and hitting two field goals. Chicago only scored two more field goals the rest of the game, and Johnson would like to be better at scoring touchdowns in the red zone going forward.
At Wednesday's press conference, he called it his team's "Achilles Heel."
"I would like to be more efficient as an offense," Johnson said. "We'd like to throw more completions. We would like to just continue to move the ball forward, and then when we do that, we have to be better in the red zone. I think that's the other Achilles Heel that we have right now. We're making it down there, but we're not scoring seven points. We're just settling the field goals the last couple weeks. So, if we do those two things on offense, I think you'll see improvement."
Johnson was right about Chicago's inability to score touchdowns from inside the opposing team's 20-yard line. Heading into Week 8, Chicago has scored touchdowns on 50% of its red zone trips, ranking 21st in the NFL according to teamrankings.com.
Being able to capitalize in those situations is going to become more and more crucial as the season goes on, especially considering the teams that the Bears will eventually face.
After taking on the struggling Baltimore Ravens (1-5), the Bears face the Cincinnati Bengals (Nov. 2), New York Giants (Nov. 9), Minnesota Vikings (Nov. 16), Pittsburgh Steelers (Nov. 23) and Philadelphia Eagles (Nov. 28). Chicago also has divisional matchups with the Green Bay Packers (Dec. 7) and Detroit Lions down the stretch.
Luckily for the Bears, the Ravens have allowed the most points per game this season, at 32.3. Chicago's offense is no slouch either, averaging 25.3 points per game, which ranks 10th in the NFL.
Regardless, settling for field goals isn't a good recipe for success at any level of football. Kickoff from M&T Bank Stadium for Sunday's game will be at noon CT on CBS as Chicago attempts to win its fifth straight game.