Bears look back on another improbable win

The Bears once again found a way to win an improbable game in the final minutes with Sunday’s 19-17 victory over Minnesota on a last-second field goal.

They haven’t played a complete game this season, but the Bears enter Week 12 at 7-3 and alone atop the NFC North standings.

Chicago turns its attention to hosting the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday at Soldier Field, perhaps without QB Aaron Rodgers, who is dealing with a left wrist injury. Here are three of the most interesting things Bears coach Ben Johnson said Monday.

On good, bad from Williams

Johnson thought QB Caleb Williams had a “pretty solid football game” Sunday. He made enough plays with his arm and legs to help his team win. But there were still moments Williams wanted back in an up-and-down day.

Williams threw for 193 yards, completed 50% of his passes and didn’t throw a touchdown. The completion percentage was Williams’ lowest of the season, while the passing yards were the second-lowest he’s had this year. But Johnson also credited Williams for not making mistakes to put the Bears in a bad spot.

Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores changed his approach against Williams compared to Week 1. After barely blitzing the first time, Flores blitzed on two-thirds of the Bears’ passing plays and even ran a “corner cat” blitz, something the Bears hadn’t seen on tape.

Despite that, Williams didn’t turn the ball over. The Vikings sacked him twice.

“He did a great job protecting that football,” Johnson said. “I can’t say enough good things about their defense in terms of how they create turnovers. All these forced fumbles, it’s by design. It’s very deliberate by them. I thought our whole crew did a great job taking care of that football.”

There were some missed plays, however. The first came on the opening drive when Williams overthrew Rome Odunze by a step on a deep pass down the Vikings’ sideline. Williams missed another deep shot on the following drive, again on third down, this time overthrowing wide-open DJ Moore by about five yards.

Johnson said he wasn’t too disappointed on the miss to Odunze because sometimes a quarterback isn’t fully in rhythm to start a game. But Johnson felt Moore ran a great route that Williams should’ve connected on. He also wasn’t worried about Williams’ inconsistent deep-ball accuracy this season.

“It’s something that we’re going to continue to work on,” Johnson said. “That stuff doesn’t just happen overnight. It’s a work in progress. That’s been the case everywhere I’ve been. So I’m not concerned about that at all.”

On forcing turnovers

The Bears’ defense continued its impressive streak of creating turnovers. Safety Kevin Byard and cornerback Nahshon Wright each intercepted Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy in the second quarter.

Chicago leads the NFL with 22 total takeaways and 15 interceptions. They also have three of the top players with interceptions. Byard is first in the league with five picks, while linebacker Tremaine Edmunds and Wright are tied for second with four, along with Jacksonville Jaguars linebacker Devin Lloyd.

“I think it’s a credit to those guys that when they do get the ball in their hands, they are bringing it in,” Johnson said. “That’s not a given in this league. You would think it is, but defensive players in general, I’ve been around a number of them that they do a good job with the pass breakups, but not being able to haul it in. They do a great job with their ball skills, being able to make those into interceptions.”

Johnson also gave credit to the defensive line for helping create turnovers. Veteran defensive tackle Grady Jarrett did a nice job rushing from the middle of the line to force McCarthy to throw quicker on Byard’s interception.

The Bears’ lack of pass rush was a major issue Sunday, as it has been for most of the year. They failed to sack McCarthy and had five quarterback hits. But the group did affect McCarthy enough to make mistakes.

“I know those guys don’t get those stats necessarily in terms of the sacks when those things occur,” Johnson said, “yet they’re a big part of why that ball is being put in plays like that.”

On confidence in running game

The Bears decided to run the ball with the game on the line late.

Chicago took over at Minnesota’s 40-yard line, trailing 17-16 with 50 seconds left in the game and with all three timeouts. Running back D’Andre Swift gained two yards after two runs before Johnson decided to run him again on third down. Swift picked up nine yards, and Johnson let the clock run down to set up kicker Cairo Santos’ game-winning field goal.

Johnson said the Bears might’ve kept running if they had picked up a first down to make the kick easier for Santos. But Johnson felt confident the running attack could get him the yards when the drive began.

“I think we handled the situation really well,” Johnson said.

That confidence includes Swift and rookie running back Kyle Monangai. Swift rushed for 90 yards on 21 carries, while Monangai had 23 rushing yards and a touchdown on 12 rushes.

Johnson decided to roll with Swift when it came to the game-winning drive. But he voiced his support for both backs.

“I got a lot of confidence in those guys,” Johnson said. “It might be series-by-series, it might be hot hand. We kind of go based on what we see in practice a lot of the time, too. But I feel really good about both those guys.”