Bear Digest

High-stakes game presents an unfamiliar situation to younger Bears

The Packers have been through a ton of big games in almost every year since coach Matt LaFleur arrived, but the Bears need to prove they can handle pressure situations.
Gene Chamberlain|
Can a young player like Kyl Monangai hold up to the pressures of big NFL games? We're about to find out.
Can a young player like Kyl Monangai hold up to the pressures of big NFL games? We're about to find out. | Tork Mason / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

It's that time of year in the NFL. It's big-game season.

The Bears are obviously in the hunt and playing in big games is not exactly a part of their recent background. It is, though, for the Green Bay Packers, who have been in eight playoff games with three wins in coach Matt LaFleur's six-plus seasons. 

There must be concerns about whether the Bears can handle the bright lights. They'll need to show they can but their win over the Eagles said they could.

"I do believe when you get toward the end of the season and the games could be a little bit bigger or you get the brighter stage, night games whatever, and you have more eyes on you, younger plays they can get, I don't want to say deer-in-headlights, but the big picture of it all can get to them a little bit," Bears coach Ben Johnson admitted.

They're hoping work done all year has prepared them for this but it definitely looks like advantage Green Bay for Saturday night at Solider Field, where the Bears have won once in the last 15 games against their primordial division rivals.

Their quarterback, Jordan Love, has played in three playoff games and other huge divisional battles with Detroit and Minnesota at season's ends. Caleb Williams, meanwhile, is tip-toeing his way along a bit when it comes to the big moments, although Johnson said earlier this week his QB is "made" for big moments.

Some of the Bears veterans like C.J. Gardner-Johnson, Joe Thuney, Jonah Jackson, Tremaine Edmunds and T.J. Edwards have been through this. Cole Kmet and Jaylon Johnson experienced it in 2000 with a late playoff run as a .500 team but nothing like Bears-Packers for first in the NFC North in Week 16 on prime-time television.

Many of the veterans they do have never won elsewhere, like DJ Moore.

"When you look at our roster, we have a number of really talented players that have not been a part of this," Johnson said. "When you look at DJ (Moore) and Cole, guys that have been—I just talked to Andrew Billings about it and this is the most games he’s ever been a part of. These guys have been around for a long time. When that happens and you’re someone that hasn’t experienced it a whole lot, you’re just grateful.

"You’re grateful for it. And you don’t want it to ... you want to take advantage of the opportunity. You just don’t know when it’s going to happen again. That’s the nature of the NFL. The parity is so strong that, when you have a good season and you win some of these one-score games like we’ve been able to do to put ourselves in a good spot–we want to make sure we capitalize on it as a team."

Ben Johnson earlier this season insisted the Bears would be playing their best football in December. It's time to show it and not wind up with stage fright.

"I mean we had, I think, any time you're first year of a program you’re hopeful that that’s going to be the case as guys get more comfortable in terms of what you’re coaching and what you’re expecting," Johnson said. "And so that’s certainly been the case with our veteran players.

"But we have a number of young players that early on it’s a lot. And at this  point I think that they’re able to go out and play fast. We trust them as a coaching staff. They’ve earned that. I mean, you can look all across our rookie class and there’s a number of high-level contributors right now, more so on the offensive side of the ball."

The veterans are enjoying the departure from the norm.

"I mean, it’s a great feeling to just have motivation behind playing and not just playing," Jaylon Johnson said.

In fact, Johnson tried explaining why there's less pressure on the Bears.

"I mean, respectfully, we ain’t got no pressure," Johnson said. "Everybody else was telling us we’re not supposed to be here. So I mean for us it’s just sticking true to what we know we can do and who we are and we’ll just continue to play hard and execute at a high level."

Somehow, it seems like Packers won't care what other people have been telling the Bears all year and executing at a high level will not be easy.

Ben Johnson thinks it can come down to how well the younger, less experienced team accepted what coaches have told them.

"I think part of our intent as coaches early on in this thing was to build a very poised unit that can handle pressure," Johnson said. "That’s our coaching style. That’s why we were very demanding out of our guys."

They’re hoping the value of all those training camp practices and OTAs when Johnson was hollering at them, or running backs coach Eric Bieniemy was cursing, should show up in the form of a polished team.

"I think they have felt that from the springtime all the way up until now, both sides of the ball, all three phases, to be honest with you," Johnson said. "Because of that, I like to think that we thrive in high-leverage and high-pressure situations."

They'll find out if it’s a higher leverage and under higher pressure than the Packers on Saturday night.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.