It seems rather prophetic when looking back to August, when defensive coordinator Dennis Allen downplayed the Chicago Bears‘ pass rush problems. He indicated that in the absence of an elite rusher, you needed dependable coverage on the back end to ensure a rush worked as intended. Is it possible Allen knew something was wrong with the secondary and let that concern slip out? If so, we probably should’ve listened. There hasn’t been a more disappointing group on the team this season than Jaylon Johnson and the cornerbacks.
Now, some people may wonder if the struggles have been played up a little too much. Sure, the Bears struggled last week in Green Bay, but that could be a one-week thing. It hasn’t been a problem all season, right? Wrong. Not only have Johnson and Tyrique Stevenson been two of the worst boundary corners in the NFL through 5 games, but a new chart from advanced stats indicates they might be the two worst period. They are in a quadrant by themselves when it comes to yards allowed per coverage snap.
Jaylon Johnson has nothing to explain away these issues.
You can run down the list of numbers and they keep getting worse. Johnson is near the bottom of the league in almost every meaningful category.
- Total yards – 286 (62nd of 65)
- YAC – 81 (50th)
- Yards per reception – 16.8 (57th)
- Passer rating – 118.6 (54th)
- Pass breakups – 0 (52nd)
All of this, plus don’t forget he has just one interception since September 22nd of 2024. Yes, Jaylon Johnson has been bad. This is a case where a really good player fell off a cliff. Stevenson hasn’t been any better. He’s allowed 198 yards, 3 touchdowns, and a 139.0 passer rating.
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When you’re this bad on the boundaries, it doesn’t matter how good your pass rush is. All a quarterback has to do is survive just long enough to lob it downfield, and he’s likely to find a completion. That is why you saw Jordan Love hit the Bears for over 30 yards on 6 different passes last week. It is a brutal situation for the team to be in. Nobody saw it coming. Why should they have? Johnson is still only 27. He didn’t have any health issues in training camp. It was natural to assume he’d continue playing at his customary high level.
The Bears really only have two choices.
They can maintain the status quo and hope Johnson finds a groove at some point. Maybe he’s just in a funk and needs to play his way out of it. Or Allen must shift how he’s calling the defense. That means far less man coverage and more zone. This feels like the only way to protect against those deep throws. Johnson’s sudden loss of speed may necessitate it. That isn’t the type of defense Allen wants to call. Unfortunately, he may not have a choice. Sometimes the personnel make it impossible.
One thing that can be said for certain is that this configuration at cornerback won’t continue if there isn’t any improvement. The Bears already showed a willingness to bench Stevenson last season. Would they do the same with Johnson? This coaching staff has made it pretty clear that they don’t reward past exploits. If you can’t pull your weight anymore, don’t expect to be around long.
