DETROIT — Trailing by a touchdown, the Chicago Bears faced a third-and-1 at their 37-yard line early in the second quarter Sunday at Ford Field. Coach Ben Johnson called for a quarterback sneak.
“I’ve got a lot of confidence in them that, when it becomes a third-and-1, that we can get a first down in two plays,” Johnson said.
Caleb Williams lined up and assessed the defense. He took the snap and tried to find a gap behind right guard Jonah Jackson. The refs marked him short.
Johnson did what has become the popular move across much of the NFL these days — he kept his offense on the field and went for it. Again, needing just inches to move the sticks, Johnson called a QB sneak on fourth down. This time, Williams followed left guard Joe Thuney.
Once again, the Lions stuffed it.
“Yeah, just got to go get it,” Williams said after the game. “I thought I got it on the first one and I guess I got closer.”
Williams felt as if he might’ve gotten the second one, too, but the refs didn’t agree. It was a turnover on downs, the first of two failed fourth-down attempts from inside their territory in the 52-21 loss.
The Lions under coach Dan Campbell have become notorious for going for it on fourth down in just about any situation. Johnson, in his first year as a head coach, wants to be aggressive in those situations too.
But the back-to-back failed sneaks were emblematic of a day that simply wouldn’t go the Bears’ way. Given two chances, they couldn’t pick up 1 yard.
“He’s got a lot of faith in us,” Jackson said. “We’ve got to make it happen. We’ve got to push the line of scrimmage.”
Johnson credited Lions defensive tackle D.J. Reader, whom he called “phenomenal” in short-yardage situations.
“We’ve got a ways to go there to get those quarterback sneaks to be effective plays for us,” Johnson said. “If that’s not the way we go then we’ll find another way to get the first down.”
The Bears did not try to emulate the Philadelphia Eagles’ “tush push” play. Running back D’Andre Swift lined up 7 yards deep and did not help Williams with an extra shove.
Asked about the tush push in the offseason, Johnson said he’s not a fan of the play.
“Man, I tell you what, does it become an explosive play, ever?” Johnson said in May after NFL owners narrowly voted to keep the play legal. “Have you ever seen it become an explosive play? I like explosive plays. I like big plays. I’m not a big tush-push guy myself.”
Williams’ two sneak attempts Sunday certainly weren’t explosive plays. The Bears lacked explosive plays all day. Williams led the Bears on a 74-yard touchdown drive on their first possession, but once they fell behind and needed to play catch-up, the offense had a harder time finding big plays.
The Bears committed eight penalties Sunday, a week after committing 12 against the Vikings.
“When you shoot yourself in the foot bad things are going to happen, but I felt like when we were clicking we were having our way up and down the field,” Jackson said. “We’ve just got to stay on track. Play clean ball, do our job.”
The Bears were disappointed after the ugly loss. But they also were trying to caution that it’s a long season.
“We’ve got 15 more games,” Williams said. “It’s the first two games and there’s been multiple occasions of teams that have rallied back and gone on a run. And that’s what we’re focused on. To do that, you’ve got to focus on the next one.”