Bears' Red Zone Troubles Challenge Ben Johnson's Offense
The Chicago Bears' offense, under the leadership of head coach Ben Johnson, is currently facing a major challenge: red zone inefficiency. In their Week 8 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, the Bears struggled to convert red zone opportunities, turning just one of three trips inside the 20-yard line into a touchdown. This continued a troubling trend that has seen them score touchdowns on only five of their last 16 red zone attempts, dropping them to 26th in the NFL in red zone efficiency.
“We’ve got to execute better,” Johnson said in the postgame interview, clearly frustrated by the offense’s inability to capitalize. “We had some good plays, but we’ve been hurting ourselves with penalties and missed opportunities. We’ve got to be smarter and more disciplined when we get down there.”
Quarterback Caleb Williams, who has been under heavy scrutiny for his performance, was unable to deliver in critical red zone moments. He missed several key throws and threw an interception that halted a potential scoring drive.
The Bears have struggled in red zone situations all season, with penalties and inconsistent execution often stalling drives. “It’s frustrating because we know we have the talent to score,” said wide receiver Darnell Mooney.
Despite the struggles, Johnson remains confident in his offense’s ability to turn things around.
The Bears' ability to improve their red zone efficiency will be crucial as they head into a tough stretch of games. With the talent on offense, the team knows they can be better—they just need to execute when it matters most.
“We’ll get it right,” Williams added. “We’ve got a lot of football left, and we’re determined to get better in every area. The red zone will be a big focus for us.”
Detroit Lions missing 3 players from practice, but get a handful of others back
ALLEN PARK -- In the first practice open to reporters after the bye week, the Detroit Lions were missing four players but got a handful of others back.
Those back at practice were safety Daniel Thomas, linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez, defensive back Avonte Maddox and running back Sione Vaki. Thomas (forearm) and Rodriguez (knee) had their 21-day return windows opened this week on the road to returning to action. Both defenders remain on injured lists and have the next two-plus weeks of practice to get activated.
Vaki has been out for the last month-plus, but the Lions hope to get him ready to go against the Minnesota Vikings this weekend. Maddox has missed the last two games due to a hamstring injury. His return would boost the nickelback and safety depth.
The Lions also saw the return of safety Brian Branch from his suspension on Tuesday. Cornerback Terrion Arnold was back at practice as expected after returning for one session last week. Arnold has missed two games with his re-aggravated shoulder injury.
They were missing All-Pro safety Kerby Joseph (knee), running back Craig Reynolds (hamstring) and pass rusher Al-Quadin Muhammad (undisclosed). Taylor Decker was not initially spotted by reporters during the open window. But the veteran left tackle was at Tuesday’s practice.
Decker is also expected back at practice to end the week, too. The Lions are off on Wednesday, so they plan to work him back into action after more time to rehab and get ready. Decker was back in the starting lineup before the bye week on Monday night after missing two straight games. At this point, he is no stranger to playing despite limited practice reps.
It’s not clear what’s going on with Muhammad. He wasn’t listed with an injury coming out of the win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, so we’ll know more when the team releases the official practice report later this afternoon.
Joseph didn’t play in the game heading into the bye week as the Lions tried to get him and his injured knee extra time to heal. The safety has been dealing with knee issues dating back to training camp, and his missed game against the Bucs was his lone absence of the campaign. Dan Campbell and Joseph were confident the bye week would do the safety a lot of good. Now, it’s just about getting him back on the practice field to see how he feels before Sunday.
The safety has three interceptions through seven games despite the lingering knee injury. Jim O’Neill, the team’s safeties coach and a defensive assistant, credited Joseph for the dedication he’s shown to work through the issue and try to get it right.
“He’s working coaches’ hours because he’s here early in the morning getting treatment,“ O’Neill said. ”He’s in the meeting rooms after getting treatment. He’s doing everything. I know last week he spent the whole week, you know, taking care of himself and doing some things out on his own.
“Just how he’s attacked it professionally, and how he’s helped some of the young guys that have come in, too ... But when he goes, I haven’t seen a drop. I think he’s been the same Kerby that we’re all used to seeing. I’m sure there are a few plays this year that he would like to have back. You know what I mean? But that’s with everybody.”
Reynolds (hamstring) and cornerback D.J. Reed were spotted working to the side with trainers. Reed still has one game left to serve for his minimum stay on injured reserve before he can return to practice.
