With a day to digest the Chicago Bears’ 26-14 win over the New Orleans Saints, coach Ben Johnson concluded it was his team’s most physical performance in six games.
“You could certainly hear it and feel it on the sideline throughout that game,” he said Monday.
And one could see it in the statistics.
The Bears sacked Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler four times, part of eight quarterback hits. And while statisticians don’t track running back hits, 5-foot-11, 200-pound nickel back Kyler Gordon blasted Alvin Kamara so hard, he drew an unnecessary roughness penalty.
“The fundamentals stood out more to me,” Johnson said. “Striking blocks, we had better tackling in the open field than what we had the previous few games. We’re making tremendous strides there. Our little guys — I’m talking about our DBs — they’re hitting violently.”
Meanwhile, the offense pushed the Saints around on the ground for 5.6 yards per carry, with only one tackle for a loss of 1 yard.
“Our run game on offense was pretty successful, over 5 yards a carry, and defensively it’s 2.6 yards per carry (by the Saints),” Johnson said. “So that was really good to see.”
But the 26-14 score implies the Bears played far from a perfect game. Here are three things we learned Monday.
1. Ben Johnson wants more out of Caleb Williams — but not at the expense of changing him.
Williams threw for 172 yards with an interception, no touchdowns and a 61.7 passer rating. It’s the seventh time in his career he has had a rating below 70, with the others all coming in his rookie season — and all but two resulting in a loss.
Beyond the numbers, there were occasions when Williams bordered on recklessness, dancing around in the pocket for what seemed like an eternity.
Asked after the game if he wanted Williams to take such risks to extend a play, Johnson was definitive: “No, we design a play to work through the progression, and if he feels pressure, then that’s when he looks to move on from there.”
Johnson was more measured Monday.
“We just went over those a little while ago, and I feel like there’s a few of those that we could have back and maybe make a little bit different decision than what we did in the moment’s notice,” he said.
Week 7 photos: Chicago Bears beat New Orleans Saints 26-14
For good or ill, Williams’ Houdini act is a part of his game.
“That’s part of what makes him special as a player, and so you don’t want to neuter him,” Johnson said. “That’s a dangerous road to go down because he’s got this natural ability to feel the pocket and know when to escape and extend.”
Williams’ ability to throw accurately and on time is another matter. Quincy Riley’s interception — Williams’ third of the season — came on a late throw to Rome Odunze on third-and-17 in Bears territory in the first quarter.
Since a season-high 67.9% completion percentage against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 3, Williams’ completion rate has slid each week to 57.7% on Sunday. He expressed frustration after the game, particularly with his inability to connect on explosive plays.
Johnson said Williams could have had better ball placement on some passes, and others the receivers should’ve caught.
Reminded that he set a goal in the preseason of a 70% completion rate, Johnson spread the blame, including to himself.
“Everyone is trying to be better in the passing game,” he said. “Our route runners have to get open. Our pass protectors have to protect. The play callers have to call good plays. And the quarterback has to throw completions. So that’s what it comes down to.”
2. The defense had a monster sequence — and a lull.
Bears safety Jaquan Brisker hits Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler, resulting in a roughing-the-passer call, during the second quarter Sunday, Oct. 19, 2025 at Soldier Field. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
After a pass-interference penalty on linebacker Tremaine Edmunds set up the Saints on the Bears 43-yard line, Gordon sacked Rattler for a 4-yard loss.
After the Saints were set back 5 yards by an illegal-formation penalty, Jaquan Brisker sacked Rattler for 9 yards.
A roughing-the-passer penalty on Brisker rescued the Saints from 3rd-and-28, but Brisker and Gervon Dexter Sr. stuffed Kamara for a 1-yard gain, and T.J. Edwards nearly picked off a pass intended for Rashid Shaheed.
No matter.
Nahshon Wright intercepted Rattler’s third-down pass to Mason Tipton over the middle and returned it 38 yards. It was one of four takeaways on the day.
“It was like back-to-back-to-back plays in a row and just guys flying around, attacking the ball or creating plays,” Brisker said.
Rattler had six interceptions and three lost fumbles in 13 previous games in his career. He had three interceptions and a lost fumble in one afternoon at Soldier Field.
Brisker credited defensive coordinator Dennis Allen.
“Just a lot of exotic, different looks,” he said. “Maybe sometimes we’ll blitz, sometimes we won’t. Sometimes we’ll go back and drop eight or whatever. … Whatever we get on third down, it’s good for us.”
It wasn’t all good on defense. The Saints scored their first points just before halftime on a five-play, 46-second drive that started from their 9 and ended in a touchdown pass to Chris Olave. Then Olave scored again on the first possession of the third quarter.
“You go from 20-0 to all of a sudden you’re looking up after halftime and it’s 20-14,” Johnson said.
Rattler set up the first touchdown with a 57-yard connection to Olave and the second with a 28-yard throw to tight end Juwan Johnson. Brisker wasn’t pleased, either, about giving up so many big plays in short order.
“As a defense we have to be cleaner, be in better spots and they won’t get those touchdowns,” he said. “We’ve got to eliminate more of those explosives.”
3. Is more of a running back split in store?
For the second game in a row, the running game got on like gangbusters.
Running backs D’Andre Swift, Kyle Monangai and Roschon Johnson combined for 216 yards on 33 carries, an average of 6.5. The rookie Monangai had career highs of 13 carries and 81 yards, including his first career touchdown, plus two receptions for 13 yards.
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Monangai said he felt a rhythm.
“We’re picking up steam, but there’s still a long way to go,” he said. “We watched the film and it was the little things, where we’re a guy away here or it was on us in the backfield where we missed a read by a step or a footwork detail or all that little stuff that can go from missing a big play or gashing a 40-yarder or a touchdown.”
If Bears fans are dreaming up visions of Johnson crafting a Chicago version of Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery, hold on there.
“Some weeks we’ll run it at that volume, other weeks we might not feature the run game quite as much,” Johnson said. “That kind of fluctuates a little bit. We feel really good about both of those players.”
Monangai said he’s less concerned about his number of carries and more about running back Eric Bieniemy’s quota for yardage (similar to defensive backs coach Al Harris’ three- and four-turnover mandates).
“You’ll hear E.B. say all the time, ‘Find 4½ (yards),’” Monangai said. “He’s not too concerned with everything number-wise or big picture. He just says whatever play we’re on is the most important, and if the ball’s in your hand, you’ve got to find 4½.”
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/10/20/chicago-bears-ben-johnson-caleb-williams-accuracy/
