The Chicago Bears snatched a victory from the jaws of defeat in a 27-24 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday Night Football, overcoming a myriad of mistakes to improve to 7-2 heading into their bye week.
The Bears jumped out to a commandeering 14-0 lead on their opening two possessions, where they looked primed to replicate their dominance from Week 1. But things quickly fell apart on their third series after a dropped touchdown by wide receiver Rome Odunze and costly penalty on rookie Zavion Thomas that was followed up by the first of four interceptions by quarterback Caleb Williams in the game.
Still, the Bears were able to pull out their fourth consecutive win thanks to their defense, which totaled four sacks and two interceptions, including
a pivotal pick-six by cornerback Jaylon Johnson in the fourth quarter, and Cairo Santos booted the game-winning field goal as time expired.
It wasn't pretty, but a win is a win. After the game, Johnson shared his message to his team after Sunday night's sloppy win and the direction the Bears are headed.
“It's hard to win with five turnovers, and yet we found a way to do it," Johnson said. "They know that we didn't play as well as we're capable of playing. But I believe the best is yet to come in terms of our football in the back half of this season. We'll continue to build that as we go forward. They needsome rest right now. That's what they need. They need to get away from these coaches. We'll clean up some things over the next couple of days and get them free from us for a little bit.”
The bye week couldn't have come at a better moment for a Bears team that needs to get healthy and has some things to clean up heading into a difficult second-half of the season, most notably penalties and the run game, which hasn't been the same since Kyle Monangai's injury a month ago.
But the fact that Chicago was able to win a game after their worst offensive showing in the Ben Johnson era -- with five turnovers -- shows that the Bears are a bigger threat as a contender given their ability to win in myriad of ways. Now, it's about stringing it all together and making a push for the playoffs.
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This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Ben Johnson shares his message to the Bears after sloppy win vs. Bucs
