‘I’ve just got to get it done’: Bears’ Jaylon Johnson remains his harshest critic

One play has served as a lightning rod for Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson, a stand-in representing many of the critiques of his performance this season — and it didn’t even involve a pass.

During the second quarter of the Bears’ 30-24 win over the New England Patriots in Week 7, Pats quarterback Drake Maye scrambled to the right on second-and-3.

Johnson peeled off his man, receiver A.J. Brown, to tackle Maye, but Maye ducked inside of him matador-style to pick up another 5 yards on a 15-yard gain to the Bears 15-yard line. The next play, linebacker D’Marco Jackson intercepted Maye in the end zone to preserve a 13-7 lead.

The threat was averted, but the controversy wasn’t.

Did Johnson take a bad angle, or was it poor effort?

Retired Bears center and fan favorite Olin Kreutz didn’t call out Johnson by name, but an X post seemed to compare Johnson’s play and D’Andre Swift’s lost fumble against the New York Jets in Week 4.

“If you can go to the Bench (sic) for fumbling should be the same for tackling,” Kreutz posted.

“Yeah, I’ve just got to be better on those,” Johnson, 27, told the Tribune. “Just getting guys to the ground. It’s just angles, pursuit, just keeping technique on my mind when it comes to those open-field tackles.

“But it’s nothing that I can say as far as an excuse, a rhyme or reason. I’ve just got to get it done.”

Johnson’s overall play hasn’t been getting it done to the level the Bears expect of the player they locked up with a four-year, $76 million contract extension in March 2024 coming off a career season in which he was selected to the Pro Bowl and named a second-team All-Pro.

“There’s been some ups and some downs,” coach Ben Johnson said. “And so just like everybody, we’re evaluating at the end of each game, winning performance versus losing performance.

“And like I alluded to with (defensive end) Daniel Hardy, he’s a prime example, guys that are stepping up in their opportunities they warrant more playing time. And so that’s the case that we do offense, defense and special teams each and every week, and we’ll continue to do that.”

Defensive coordinator Dennis Allen looked at the larger context.

“I think everybody at times has some up-and-down moments,” Allen said. “I said this a couple weeks ago, there’s 11 guys out there on the football field that affect the game on every single play. And I think sometimes it’s easy to try to point out a particular individual.

“And yet, I know Jaylon would say himself that there’s some things that he has to improve on. We all have to do that and that’s where our focus is. Our focus is not on, OK, who can we find out here where we can start placing some blame on some things? All right, let’s work as all 11, and how do we improve as a collective group? And that’s what we’re trying to do.”

But Ben Johnson’s comments seem to suggest that if Jaylon Johnson’s struggles continue, he would take away snaps from the cornerback.

But give them to whom?

Malik Muhammad II has played a mix of outside corner and nickel, and he was an outside corner at Texas, but he has had his share of rookie hiccups. Kyler Gordon returned from a calf injury and has thrived, but he’s primarily a nickelback who has seen more snaps as a blitzer (four sacks) than he has as a boundary corner. Josh Blackwell and Clark Phillips III have seen only a handful of defensive snaps. Cam Lewis is among the Bears’ most versatile defensive backs but has allowed one of the highest passer ratings on the team (146.5 of a possible 158.3).

That’s not to say that Jaylon Johnson’s numbers have been prettier.

His passer rating allowed (123.6), catch rate (70%) and catch-rate-allowed-over-expected (plus-12.4%) are all on career-worst paces.

Jaylon Johnson probably had his best game in Week 6 against the Atlanta Falcons, when he gave up just 5 yards despite being targeted four times, per NFL Pro.

But the week before — during a 31-7 debacle against the Green Bay Packers — he was tagged with allowing 106 yards, a perfect 158.3 passer rating and Christian Watson’s 53-yard touchdown, per NFL Pro.

He told reporters afterward that the reality of his performance at Lambeau Field “isn’t what you guys are saying … that I gave up a lot of passes.” He said later that it was a poor group effort.

“We didn’t play good,” Jaylon Johnson said. “We gave up, I think, almost 200 yards in just explosive passes by itself. So just for us as a unit, as a DB group, we know the game’s going to be on us.”

Former Bears corner Charles “Peanut” Tillman, a one-time All-Pro and like Johnson a two-time Pro Bowl pick, offered some advice to the corner on returning to his standout form.

“You’ve got to keep playing,” Tillman said in an Oct. 16 post on WSCR-FM 104.3 and AM 670’s YouTube page. “If working hard and staying late and watching film, if that’s what got you to that All-Pro status, maybe we need to get back to that.

“Again, I’m not saying that he’s not doing that. I don’t know. But keep the main thing the main thing. He’s in a slump right now. I don’t want to tell him to change technique, but I just think he needs to refocus and get his mind back, get his mind right back on the technique of what he used to do on the field.

“We know this is out of his character as far as who he is athletically. He has never played this bad right now, and I wish him nothing but the best. I hope the success is coming in this next game because we need it in the worst way.”

When asked about Tillman’s message, Jaylon Johnson replied: “I don’t have anything to say to that.”

He then added: “Everybody, I would assume, has the right intention in anything that they’re saying, and they just want, I would say, certain plays to be better or different. Nobody critiques themself harder than (or) critiques me harder than me. So I’m just trying to figure out ways to just be better on each and every play.”

Of course, no cornerback — even a designated No. 1 like Johnson — operates completely on an island for an entire game. They get help from other defensive backs and pass on or pick up a man. And as a group, their coverage works in tandem with the pass rush.

That’s why general manager Ryan Poles believes newly acquired defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons will greatly help the secondary. The Bears forked over two first-rounders to the Tennessee Titans as part of the trade package to get Simmons.

“I think he’s a multiplier,” Poles said. “When you can provide pressure, you help your secondary tremendously. I think Coach hit on it, I think secondary-wise, it’s been some ups and downs. I love what I’ve seen Kyler do in certain situations. I’ve really liked Malik, his maturity. There’s been ups and downs for him, too, but he’s a young player.

“And then same with Jaylon and Tyrique (Stevenson). I think there’s been ups and downs and they’re trying to find their way. But I do think when you add someone like Jeffery, you make a huge impact for them too.”

Whatever the Bears can do to help their cornerbacks, they need to figure it out fast. Jaxon Smith-Njigba is on tap Monday night.

According to Next Gen Stats, the Seattle Seahawks’ alpha receiver leads all pass catchers in average yards (123.9), touchdowns (1.1) and expected-points-added (plus-7.7).

“He can do it all,” Jaylon Johnson said. “He can run good routes, he can catch the ball, he can beat you after the catch. So there’s nothing that he can’t do in a game.”