It was American author Kurt Vonnegut who once said, “Laughter and tears are both responses to frustration and exhaustion. I myself prefer to laugh, since there is less cleaning up to do afterward.” Perhaps this is why after the Chicago Bears’ second gut-wrenching defeat in the last four weeks, cornerback Jaylon Johnson is describing Sunday’s loss to the Green Bay Packers as ‘comical.’
Well, actually, ‘almost comical’ is the way that the All-Pro corner put it, because in reality, if you’re a player in that locker room or a lifelong Bears fan, there was nothing funny about it.
“It’s almost comical,” Johnson said on Sunday afternoon, per Courtney Cronin, Rob Demovsky, Kalyn Kahler of ESPN.com. “The luck of the damn draw at this point. We’ve got to figure it out, how to be better.”
For as talented as Jaylon Johnson is, and for as dominant as he’s been the last season and a half, at least a sliver of the blame for this defeat rests on his shoulders. Or rather, on his feet.
Trailing 19-14, Green Bay got the ball back with just over four minutes remaining, and on the second play of the drive, Jordan Love and Christian Watson connected on a play that would go for 60 yards. But it was all made possible because Jaylon Johnson tripped in the open field, leaving Watson completely uncovered.
Christian Watson with the clutch diving catch for 60 yards!pic.twitter.com/QtllSDPl6h
— Packerfan Total Access- Clayton (@packers_access) November 17, 2024
“I have no business tripping,” Johnson said after the game, according to Bears insider Sean Hammond. “I have to find a way to stay up. I know if I stay up I’m gonna make that play. So just for me, I’ve got to figure out a way to be better.”
Here’s the thing, though… mistakes like this happen. Over the course of a game, they’re unavoidable. But repeated coaching malpractice shouldn’t be accepted as commonplace. And until the Bears make a change, that’s exactly what’s happening.
Coaching mismatch dooms Bears once again
As has so often been the case in the Matt Eberflus era, the Bears have found spectacular ways to lose games that they really had no business losing. On the surface, you can chalk each of these losses up to being outplayed on the field, but in reality, it starts with the preparation.
This loss to Green Bay is a perfect example, and it’s highlighted by the fact that while the game came down to a field goal attempt at the gun, the Packers coaching staff knew they had found an advantage, and on the opposite sideline, Eberflus and his staff were predictably clueless.
“I will say this: Rich [Bisaccia] said to our team last night, ‘I will not understand if we come out of this game without a block, whether field goal or PAT,’” Packers coach Matt LaFleur of his Special Teams coordinator after the game. “So, great job from our special teams coaches.”
“We’ve been emphasizing it so much this week,” Edgerrin Cooper said. “We just saw how low he was kicking the ball, so we knew we had a real good chance of blocking it.”
They did. And now, all we can do is laugh, because crying will require clean-up.
