The Chicago Bears have looked completely inept during their three-game losing streak, highlighted by a 19-3 loss to the New England Patriots on Sunday.
During a radio appearance Monday, star cornerback Jaylon Johnson hinted at a lack of desire in the locker room as a big reason for their recent struggles.
In the last two games, the Bears have been held without a single offensive touchdown. Rookie quarterback Caleb Wiliams has looked overwhelmed and appears to be regressing from where he was at the beginning of his rookie year.
Perhaps even more worrying has been the lack of unity in the Bears locker room, with players openly questioning both the decision-making and leadership of head coach Matt Eberflus and offensive coordinator Shane Waldron.
Whether it be the coaching or the players failing to execute on the field, there are obvious problems plaguing this Bears team. On top of that, Jaylon Johnson made it clear during an appearance on the Spiegel and Holmes Show on 670 The Score in Chicago that he believes a lack of commitment from some of his teammates is also holding them back significantly.
“Are there people on this team… Some people work harder than others, it’s just human nature right?” asked Matt Spiegel.
“That’s not really even a question,” replied Johnson.
“So how do you change that? If you can do anything as a player in that regard,” asked Spiegel.
“Honestly, I’ve been fighting myself with this question for a long time,” said Johnson. “I’ve thought about it and been asked the question. I think honestly for me, part of me says that there is nothing you can do. And part of me says that there is something that you can do.
“I’m gonna use your office for example. I’m gonna use you and Laurence. So if you are used to staying after your designated hours and you see how you can do something better. You work at it, work at it, work at it, and start getting results. And then Laurence sees you and he still kind of lollygags… and then he leaves. You do that for a long time and you see somebody see you getting work… At a certain point, you kind of think in your head maybe he don’t give a damn like I give a damn.
“At the end of the day, that’s okay. You can necessarily change somebody’s ‘want to’ or hunger to do something and be uncomfortable. There’s times where it’s like ‘Oh, I gotta pick my daughter up from school.’ There’s times where you gotta ask someone else to pick your daughter up from school so you can get this dang work. So our radio show can be the best that it can be.
“Oftentimes… there is always something better to do and those opportunities aren’t being taken. It’s like ‘Oh, we all want to win.’ Nah, we all don’t want to win at the same level. We all don’t want to grow this radio show at the same level because clearly there is not the level of application that has gone on. You can tell somebody to do it. You can take the horse to the well, but you can’t make them drink. At the end of the day, we have to have a lot of guys that are thirsty. I feel like that’s definitely an area of improvement for everyone.”
It’s unclear who Johnson is talking about specifically. But regardless, maybe this message does help motivate whoever needs to put in more time on the practice field to help the Bears get on track.
It doesn’t get any easier for the Bears in Week 11 as they will host the Green Bay Packers, who they haven’t beaten since 2018.
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.