The Chicago Bears walked into Saturday night’s preseason contest against the Cincinnati Bengals looking for a solid tune-up. They walked out of Paycor Stadium with a clear warning from their head coach.
Chicago dropped a 27-9 decision that will not affect the standings, yet Ben Johnson made no attempt to soft-pedal the performance. The Bears piled up 11 penalties, converted just two of 14 third downs and failed to reach the end zone even after several trips into Cincinnati territory.
Johnson refused to lean on the usual preseason excuses once the final whistle sounded.
“Overall, it doesn’t matter if it’s preseason or not,” Johnson said. “It’s a bad feeling in that locker room after the game when you lose, particularly like that when it’s down by multiple scores.”
That blunt assessment was exactly what the organization needed to hear. The Bears did not merely lose an exhibition. They displayed the kind of sloppy football that gets teams beat in September and October.
The mistakes were hard to ignore. Those 11 penalties cost Chicago 81 yards. The offense managed only two conversions on 14 third-down tries while the defense allowed Cincinnati to succeed on six of 13. Three field goals represented the entire scoring output.
“They really hurt us in the first half, and we weren’t able to get those cleaned up there in the second half,” Johnson said of the penalties. “When you add in the red zone, the fact that we were able to move the ball at times OK, but we couldn’t end up with touchdowns, those are major killers when you’re facing a good team like that.”
Calling the Bengals a good team that night was generous. Cincinnati sat Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase and most of its regular contributors. The Bears faced backups for large stretches and still could not finish drives.
The opening series illustrated the problem. Chicago’s starting offense marched to the Bengals’ 17-yard line against reserve defenders. Left tackle Braxton Jones then drew a holding call that pushed the Bears back into a first-and-20 situation. Three straight incomplete passes followed, forcing Cairo Santos to kick a 45-yard field goal.
That eight-play possession summed up the evening: encouraging movement, a self-inflicted error and a disappointing result.
Preseason scores rarely matter. Preseason habits do. A missed tackle in August can become six points in the regular season. A holding penalty that stalls a promising drive hurts just as much once the games start counting. Third-and-long remains third-and-long no matter what the calendar says.
The Bears discovered that truth the hard way. They could not overcome their own errors against Cincinnati’s second- and third-string players. Problems showed up on offense, defense and special teams.
Johnson’s visible frustration also reflected the raised bar in Chicago. This is no longer a franchise simply hoping to stay relevant. The Bears captured the NFC North last season and beat the Green Bay Packers in the wild-card round. Expectations have climbed.
A club with those goals cannot shrug off 11 penalties and a 2-for-14 third-down rate simply because it is still August.
Johnson clearly understands the shift. His players will need to grasp it just as quickly. Chicago has one final preseason game left, against the Tennessee Titans. The final score again will carry little weight. The team’s discipline, execution and response to the messy night in Cincinnati will carry plenty.
