Bears regroup from another loss to the Packers

The Bears had a chance to pick up a big win Sunday against the Packers that would’ve kept them atop the NFC playoff standings. But Chicago couldn’t execute in key moments, whether it was quarterback Caleb Williams missing Cole Kmet at the end of the game on fourth down or the defense for much of the matchup.

Now the Bears start a final four-game stretch Sunday against the Cleveland Browns at Soldier Field that will determine whether Chicago qualifies for the playoffs for the first time since 2020. Here are three of the most interesting things the Bears said Monday.

On Sunday’s final two minutes

Chicago had a chance to tie or win Sunday’s game when it faced fourth-and-1 from the Green Bay 14 trailing 28-21 with 27 seconds left in the game. Williams ran to his left and tried to fit a pass to Kmet. But Packers cornerback Keisean Nixon caught up to Kmet and made a leaping interception.

A day later, Bears head coach Ben Johnson said there were multiple options for Williams and the throw to Kmet popped the most. Johnson didn’t consider a throw to wide receiver DJ Moore, who was closer to the first down line, viable because Moore wasn’t open until after Williams threw the ball.

“It’s a good play by Nixon for them,” Johnson said. “He came off of his guy and made a play on the ball. But had we seen it a little bit sooner and given Cole a better chance, I think we would have been pretty happy with that result.”

Johnson didn’t second-guess his clock management during the final two minutes. Chicago reached the Green Bay 23 with all three timeouts, a fresh set of downs and two minutes left in the game. The Bears didn’t show any rush in getting plays in, though. Johnson called three straight runs that moved the ball nine yards and got the clock down to 27 seconds.

Chicago wanted to score as late as possible so Green Bay’s offense didn’t have enough time to score. Johnson said everyone was on the same page and handled the situation well, other than picking up a first down on third and fourth downs.

“The first thing we needed to do was score a touchdown,” Johnson said. “But the last thing we wanted to do as well was give them enough time to respond because of how dangerous they had been on offense. Best-case scenario would have been scoring a touchdown with under 30 seconds there and then letting our defense going out and holding down the fort there for the very end to win the game. But we didn’t make enough plays there on that last drive to earn that right.”

On finding Williams’ balance

Williams again showed off his highs and lows Sunday afternoon.

There were moments in the second half where Williams looked like one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. He made tight-window throws to wide receivers Olamide Zaccheaus and Devin Duvernay, found open targets like rookie wide receiver Luther Burden III and rookie tight end Colston Loveland, and made improbable throws off pressure like one down the sideline to Kmet.

But Williams again failed to hit the layups at times, especially in the first half. He missed throws and looks at times, like the Bears’ first third-down attempt where he overthrew Moore.

“That’s something we’re striving to do is combine both of those worlds to where we think we’re gonna have a really good quarterback in this league, a really dangerous quarterback in this league, a really dangerous offense, a really good team for a long time when we’re really able to combine both of those thought processes,” Johnson said. “We’re not quite there yet. We’re working diligently every day.”

Williams has been open to the feedback Johnson has given him about getting more into a rhythm. Johnson said Williams has an open mindset and doesn’t care what he calls. Williams will try to go make it work, which is what Johnson wants out of his quarterback.

“I just want to hit the ground running a little bit better than what we have been,” Johnson said. “We talked a week ago about the passing game needing to improve, and that first half, we didn’t quite make the strides that we had hoped for over the course of the week. So we’ll just go back to work again this week and get back after it again.”

On Moore’s lack of production

Sunday figured to be a big day for Moore. The Bears were without top wide receiver Rome Odunze because of a foot injury, which should’ve given Moore a bigger role in the offense.

It instead resulted in Moore’s worst outing of the season. Moore caught one pass for minus 4 yards after Williams targeted Moore three times. Burden, Kmet, Loveland and running back D’Andre Swift were all targeted and caught more passes than Moore.

“I thought he ran some pretty good routes over the course of the day, and we just couldn’t give him the ball, which was not the intent,” Johnson said. “You know, I thought going to the game, we might have had more for him than any other player in the offense. And so was a little surprised at the end when I saw the stat sheet for one catch like he had.”

It’s been a struggle for Moore this season as he’s tried to find his spot in Johnson’s offense. Moore has also battled injuries for much of the year but hasn’t missed a game. He’s caught 39 passes for 498 yards and is on pace to set career lows in both categories.

But the Bears haven’t seen Moore waver during the struggles. They’ll need more of that during the final four games of the season.

“I think first and foremost, it’s about winning,” Zaccheaus said of Moore. “Whatever that may look like. It might be a different person or different few people every game that kind of pop or whatever. I think his mindset is that we just want to win. So whatever that looks like and everybody just being ready for their opportunities.”