Ben Johnson says Bears offense needs to improve in this key area
Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson is determined to find a fix to this issue that plagued his offense last season.
The Chicago Bears were one of the most exciting teams last season, due in large part to their improbable comebacks late in games that helped them secure a 11-6 record, NFC North title win and the team's first playoff win in nearly two decades. They even earned the "Cardiac Bears " moniker after their NFL-record seven fourth-quarter comebacks, including their thrilling 31-27 wild-card win over the Green Bay Packers. While it made for some thrilling football, it's not exactly the reputation Chicago wants to carry moving forward.
The Bears want to continue playing their best in the fourth quarter, but head coach Ben Johnson preached the importance of getting off to faster starts heading into Year 2. "In terms of when we need to be at our best in the fourth quarter, that has to stay the same," Johnson said. "Those guys came through.
They had belief and it showed up. They played really well in the fourth quarter. "Now I look back—I'm talking the last eight games, playoffs included—we scored more points fourth quarter on than we did quarters one to three.
That wasn't the case the first half of the season, and so we've got to figure out why we started the second half of the season so slow on offense. That's a big mission of mine. We don't want to put ourselves behind the eight ball each and every week.