Chicago Bears HC Ben Johnson puts pressure on Jaylon Johnson, Tyrique Stevenson

The Chicago Bears offense was near perfect in a 59-37 win over the Carolina Panthers in Week 1 on Sunday.

The Bears defense… showed they have a lot to improve upon before the team is ready to talk about a Super Bowl appearance.

Chicago cornerbacks Jaylon Johnson and Tyrique Stevenson were among the worst performers on the defense. Per Pro Football Focus, Johnson was graded as the 73rd-best cornerback out of 80 players. Stevenson was graded No. 79.

Not good.

On Monday, Bears head coach Ben Johnson put a little pressure on both players to play better against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 2, saying he expects that from them.

“They were excited that the team won the game and both of them felt like they could play better than they did,” Johnson said, via CHGO Bears. “We got a chance next week to come back and start all over again and play better. I expect that out of them.”

Chicago Bears couldn’t be perfect in Week 1

Jun 11, 2026; Lake Forest, IL, USA; Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson looks on during Minicamp at Halas Hall. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

Johnson told reporters after Sunday’s game that he didn’t expect the Bears to play their best football of the season against the Panthers. Still, he’s in a race to get better at all three phases of the game, including the defense.

“Now we’re in a race to improve in all three phases and collectively as a team,” Johnson said. “That’s what we’ve got to do. So, we’ll take a look at the tape, what can we get better at. It only gets harder from here on out.

“And yet I told those guys, you’d like to think in a long season like this, we’re playing our worst football early on and we continue to get better and better and better. And so that’s really the message right there. All three phases, we all got to get better, each and every week.”

The Bears are counting on the secondary to hold down the fort to help the defensive line rush the passer. Clearly, that was a bust in Week 1.

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