Ben Johnson reveals how he approached his first bye week with the Bears

Here's how Ben Johnson and the Bears handled his first bye week as a head coach.

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The Chicago Bears will look to buck a frustrating trend of losses after bye weeks in their Monday night matchup against the Washington Commanders.

The Bears are 2-10 over their last 12 games following a bye week. Their last post-bye win came in Week 14 of the 2023 season, when they defeated the Detroit Lions, 28-13.

That victory snapped Chicago's nine-game losing streak after a week off.

Ben Johnson will look to change that narrative in his first post-bye week game as a head coach, but his preparation for the Commanders doesn't include an secret ingredients.

David Banks-Imagn Images

“I don't know if there's any secret sauce to it, to be honest with you," Johnson said this week. "These guys, I'm pretty pleased with how they approached it. I don't think a whole lot of them went out to Cancun and went partying or anything like that (laughter). I think a lot of them stayed local and they just wanted to get their bodies right, wanted to get sleep back in order. So they should be feeling fresh right now. We had a couple extra route sessions, but that's as much conditioning as it is just being on the same page, hooking up.

"But each week's its own deal. I would love to have another 40-point game, but it's one of those things you just never know. We have to go earn it. We have to have a great week here in terms of our preparation, and then we have to go out and execute, hopefully better than we have the previous four weeks. That's what we're looking to do. I really don't think of anything coming off the bye or anything like that. We're on to the next one.”

I think one thing is certain: this year's Bears will be more prepared for an end-of-game Hail Mary situation... for obvious reasons.

Chicago is catching the Commanders at a good time in their schedule. Despite playing, Washington QB Jayden Daniels is banged up with a knee injury, while the Bears will get star cornerback Kyler Gordon back in the fold for the first time this season.

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