Three days after the Chicago Bears seized a signature Black Friday victory in Philadelphia, they returned to Halas Hall to a directive. For coach Ben Johnson, gone was the celebratory postgame juice that prompted him to tear his shirt off inside the Lincoln Financial Field locker room, replaced instead by purpose as Johnson welcomed his offense back to work with his trademark blunt honesty.

The Bears’ passing game, Johnson relayed, still wasn’t up to standard.

With 281 rushing yards in Philly, the Bears mauled the reigning Super Bowl champion Eagles into submission, flexing the NFC’s top rushing attack. But to win at a higher level in December and January, Johnson understood the passing game needed advancement and wasn’t shy about sharing his feedback.

All hands on deck, he ordered. From the quarterback to the pass catchers to the offensive line to, yes, himself as a play caller. “Everybody has a role to play to get this pass game cleaned up,” he said.

The Bears’ first effort in responding came Sunday at Lambeau Field during a 28-21 loss to the Packers in which their passing game remained inconsistent, following an ugly first half with encouraging signs of life over their final four possessions.

After netting only 23 passing yards before halftime, the Bears accumulated 154 the rest of the way, including two Caleb Williams touchdown passes plus the offense’s five longest completions.

As the team fights to stay inside the frame of the playoff picture, the continued focus on enlivening the air attack is our first of three compelling storylines to explore.

‘Not good enough’

Veteran receiver DJ Moore heard Johnson’s message about the passing attack loud and clear on the Monday after the triumph in Philadelphia. “Get that s— done,” Moore said, “or we won’t have a passing game. We need to be on the details.”

To Johnson’s credit, he began that Week 14 welcome meeting for his offense by offering evidence of his own play-calling missteps and regrets. His sincerity landed, disarming players rather than putting them on the defensive.

“There’s a consistency and an intensity with Ben you appreciate,” passing game coordinator Press Taylor said.

As much of the world has been tracking the Bears’ 2025 progress through the standings, Taylor has also appreciated Johnson’s ability to get the team to understand what they are actually being graded on.

“We’re not chasing this No. 1 seed,” Taylor said last week before the game in Green Bay. “We’re not chasing making the playoffs. We’re chasing being the best version of ourselves. Every day.

“So from Ben, it’s more like, ‘This isn’t good enough. This isn’t the standard we’ve all set for ourselves.’ Then he puts the tape on.”

Example after example after example has shown definitively that more precision is needed. At times, Williams isn’t getting the football to his open primary read. In other instances, the protection isn’t holding up well enough. Too frequently, Bears pass catchers haven’t been exact enough with their routes.

In one instance from Philadelphia, a 9-yard Williams pass to Olamide Zaccheaus prompted a meaningful discussion. That completion came on a slant that converted third-and-7 against an all-out Eagles blitz. Success. Chains move. Great.

But that clip was less a pat on the back and more a “What could’ve been” example. Zaccheaus’ stick at the top of his route was fine. But not excellent. Williams’ ball location was fine. But not ideal.

“We’re inches away from that being a 60-yard, explosive touchdown that just completely demoralizes the opponent,” Taylor said.

On Sunday, against an all-out Bears blitz, Packers quarterback Jordan Love hit receiver Christian Watson in stride with a third-down slant. Watson sprinted the final 34 yards for his 41-yard touchdown. Explosive touchdown. Demoralizing for the Bears.

The Bears’ rise this season has been encouraging on many fronts. But, as Sunday’s stumble in Green Bay reinforced, consistent exactitude will remain a prerequisite to regularly winning big games against upper-tier opponents.

Within the route-running portion of the Bears’ troubleshooting efforts, improved timing has been emphasized.

“We always say ‘Don’t fool the quarterback,’” receivers coach Antwaan Randle El said. “Be where you’re supposed to be when you’re supposed to be there. That’s ideal in terms of your route depth. That’s ideal in terms of when you get your eyes around. That’s ideal in terms of the steps you take. All those things matter.”

Added Taylor: “We can go back to where we can pull practice clips from training camp. We can pull practice clips from (this week) and it’s like, ‘Here you cut on your fourth inside step and it put you at 22 yards. Now you have a 3-yard window over the top of this cloud corner. We can make a throw.’ In the game, though, you got rushed. You took three steps. And Caleb can’t throw you the ball because this distribution is not right.’

“It’s more just bringing everybody back. It’s not just yelling and screaming and ‘You screwed up.’ It’s more, this is why your job is so important and this is how this is going to improve.”

Another test of the improvement will come Sunday at Soldier Field against the Cleveland Browns.

“It’s not some major thing, so we’re expecting it to take off,” Taylor said. “But it’s got to happen. We can’t just keep saying we’re close. We’ve got to do this. Because at some point in time, this pass game is going to have to win a game for us.”

Cornerback Kyler Gordon is one of the Bears’ best defensive players, but injuries have kept him off the field for much of the season. (Geoff Stellfox / Getty Images)

Down and out

Cornerback Kyler Gordon hadn’t been on the Bears’ injury report at all during Week 14. Then on Sunday, he strained his groin during pregame warmups. And for the 10th time in 13 games this season, he was out.

For those keeping track, Gordon missed the season’s first four games with a hamstring problem. He returned to play against the Commanders and Saints in October. Then he spent five weeks on injured reserve with calf and groin issues, returned for 36 snaps against Philadelphia and now …

The groin again.

Notably, none of Gordon’s injuries this season has occurred during a game. The hamstring issue happened on the Sunday of Week 1 on a day in which the Bears held a walk-through at Halas Hall. The groin and calf problems popped up during a Thursday practice in Week 8. This latest setback occurred in the lead-up to Sunday’s game.

Said Johnson: “I do know the biggest predictor of a soft tissue injury is having a previous one. He’s kind of in this rut right now that we’re not able to get out of.”

It’s easy to understand why Johnson’s patience is running thin. In his first season as Bears coach, he hasn’t had much opportunity to learn about Gordon as a player. And this, after both he and coordinator Dennis Allen singled Gordon out last winter as an “outstanding” and “phenomenal” slot cornerback they had a vision for.

“It’s disappointing,” Johnson said. “I wish I had a better feel for the individual. But with him being out as much as he has (been), I haven’t really gotten to see him on the field and competing to get to know him like I’d like to at this point.”

With four games left in the regular season, it has become increasingly difficult to envision Gordon factoring in to a significant extent. Eight months after signing a three-year, $40 million contract extension, the talented cornerback is instead caught in a vicious cycle of injury-rehab-return, injury-rehab-return.

Said Johnson: “We’re going to exhaust all our resources in and outside of the building to make sure we’re addressing it and doing what we can to get him back and healthy again.”

Close encounters

Independent of Sunday’s final result — and yes, it was a dispiriting loss to the rival Packers — the Bears should benefit from their time on that stage. For a group riding a quickly ascending growth curve toward a possible NFC playoff berth this season, there’s value in being tested against quality opponents in big games that come down to the final seconds with a lot at stake.

Sunday’s experience alone should prove helpful as the Bears push into more such moments over the final four games and, ideally, beyond.

“It’s a playoff atmosphere, versus a rival,” quarterback Caleb Williams said. “So it’s good for us to be able to find ways to rally. Obviously, we want to focus on having a better outcome and starting faster and all those different things. But it’s definitely useful for us.”

Sunday offered multiple reminders of how thin the margin for error is and how every small mistake can be magnified against a good opponent.

Failing to cash in on C.J. Gardner-Johnson’s early interception proved frustrating.

Cairo Santos’ botched “dirty” kickoff in the latter stages of the first half, which bounced short of the landing zone, set Green Bay up at the 40-yard line and led quickly to a Packers touchdown.

Shoddy tackling on third-and-2 on the Packers’ game-winning fourth-quarter touchdown drive doomed the Bears.

The list goes on.

Amid so much understandable dejection Sunday evening, Bears players acknowledged the benefit of playing in such a high-level game that came down to the final play.

“It’s about gaining confidence,” Zaccheaus said. “I feel like we came into the game with confidence. But I think getting that experience and knowing we can play with anybody is big.

“They made more plays than us. But being able to experience this and see we can hold our own is good for everybody in here.”