The Chicago Bears are left picking up the pieces after another woeful effort against the Green Bay Packers. Failures came across the board for them. Coaching was a problem on both sides of the ball. So was interior line play. The guards and center allowed 19(!) pressures on Justin Fields. Their defensive tackles failed to record a single pressure on Jordan Love. It was a reminder of how far this team still is from actual playoff contention. That said, not all of it was bad.
Chicago got solid contributions from multiple players during the action. Most of it was overlooked because of the obvious breakdowns elsewhere. There is a common theme between them all too. Let’s take a look at the standouts and what it could mean for the future.
The Chicago Bears should be encouraged by these performances.
Braxton Jones
The former 5th round pick looked significantly better in pass protection against Green Bay than almost any game he played last season. Jones allowed only one pressure on Justin Fields in his 37 pass attempts. Considering what the Packers front did to Bears’ interior offensive line, that’s saying a lot. The one issue was the penalties. Jones marred his performance with multiple infractions, including false starts and holds. He has to get that cleaned up. Mental mistakes aside, the second-year tackle looked the part.
Roschon Johnson
The Chicago Bears unsurprisingly went with the more experienced combo of Khalil Herbert and D’Onta Foreman at running back in the opener. Foreman was mostly a non-factor, while Herbert failed to get on track most of the day. Neither provided the offense any juice when it was desperately needed. That changed when coaches got Roschon Johnson involved. He did everything the scouting reports said he would do when the Bears drafted him. He ran with power and contact balance, picking up extra yards after contact. His pass protection was excellent, helping Fields. Last but not least, he was a consistent threat as a receiver. Johnson finished with 20 yards rushing on five carries and six catches for 35 yards.
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Darnell Wright
People will see that Wright gave up five pressures and a sack in this game and think it was bad. A closer look at the tape says otherwise. The truth is only two plays stood out where the 10th overall pick got outright beat. Another pressure was brought on by Fields taking too far of a drop. In truth, the rookie looked sharp in pass protection most of the afternoon, especially as the game went along. There were multiple instances of him outright stonewalling guys. The most encouraging thing was how quickly he learned to diagnose and pick up blitzes and stunts.
Tyrique Stevenson
The Bears loved what they saw from their 2nd round pick in the preseason. His performance was enough to earn the starting job. Stevenson didn’t disappoint in his debut. Green Bay targeted him four times, collecting only five total yards on two catches. The only downside is one of those catches went for a touchdown. Still, Stevenson’s coverage was sound. He also delivered one of the best hits of the day, blowing up an option toss to Jayden Reed. If you haven’t noticed the trend by now, every name mentioned on this list are Ryan Poles draft picks. Perhaps it’s a sign that the GM is steadily building a core of young talent that can finally elevate this team to respectability.
