Bears coach Ben Johnson would like to see some easy wins to go with the nail-biters

CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Bears would love nothing more than to start adding some blowouts to their mounting pile of wins.

They’ll take the nail-biters for now.

The Bears could at least breathe a little easier Monday, a day after pulling out another tight one. They rallied in the fourth quarter for the fourth time in six games and beat the New York Giants 24-20 Sunday on Caleb Williams’ touchdown scramble in the closing minutes.

“I think it’s the best thing about us winning right now,” coach Ben Johnson said Monday. “We can come back and we can coach them hard. We’ll tell them the truth and they know it. They’re professionals. They all know that we’re winning but yet this isn’t necessarily the style or the fashion that we want to hang our hat on long term. I think we’re in a really good spot with our locker room right now.”

The Bears (6-3) have won six of seven to jump into contention for their first playoff appearance since 2020. They exceeded their win total from last season by beating New York and own their best record through nine games since the 2018, when they also went 6-3 on the way to an NFC North title. Chicago is seventh in the NFC, a half-game ahead of San Francisco, and tied with Detroit for second in the division behind Green Bay.

The Bears have beaten teams that are a combined 15-41-1 — Dallas, Las Vegas, Washington, New Orleans, Cincinnati and the Giants. Their schedule gets tougher starting this week at Minnesota. The three games that follow are against division leaders, with Pittsburgh coming to Soldier Field and the Bears then visiting defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia and Green Bay.

“We understand the urgency that’s at hand,” Johnson said. “We know where we are in the NFC right now, but I think the biggest thing and the message to the team is that we’re a 6-3 team right now that’s looking to get to 7-3.”

What’s working

Though the Bears aren’t winning easily, they’re at least making plays down the stretch.

They’re 4-1 in games decided by six points or fewer after going 2-7 in such games last year. And they’ve combined to score 30 in the final quarter the past two weeks.

Williams’ four fourth-quarter comebacks were tied for the league lead among quarterbacks with Tampa Bay’s Baker Mayfield and Denver’s Bo Nix through Sunday.

What needs help

Chicago continues to struggle to stop the opposition.

The Bears ranked 27th in total defense at 375.7 yards per game after giving up 431 against the Giants and are 28th in scoring. Only Washington, Tennessee, Dallas and Cincinnati are allowing more points than Chicago at 27.4 on average.

Stock up

DB C.J. Gardner-Johnson is off to a good start in Chicago after being released by Houston and Baltimore this season. The veteran has three sacks in two games since signing with the Bears, including two against the Giants. The Bears trailed by 10 in the third quarter when Gardner-Johnson forced a fumble by Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart on a run that Nahshon Wright recovered, leading to a field goal.

Gardner-Johnson has 18 interceptions and seven sacks in seven seasons with New Orleans, Philadelphia, Detroit, Houston and Chicago. But he also developed a reputation for collecting unsportsmanlike-conduct penalties.

The Texans let Gardner-Johnson go after three games this year following an offseason trade from the Eagles. He was signed to Baltimore’s practice squad last month, but never played for the Ravens before being released.

Gardner-Johnson played his first three seasons under Bears defensive coordinator Dennis Allen in New Orleans. He was with Detroit in 2023 when Ben Johnson was the Lions’ offensive coordinator.

Stock down

WR Olamide Zaccheaus. Coming off a solid outing against Cincinnati, Zaccheaus would probably just as soon forget this one. He had one catch for 5 yards and several drops, including what would have been a 23-yard touchdown in the first quarter. Kyle Monangai ran it in from the 8 two plays later.

Injuries

Johnson said safety Jaquan Brisker tweaked his back, but should be “good to go.”

Key number

20 — Though the Bears had just one takeaway against New York, they lead the league with 20. That’s helped mitigate the big chunks of yardage they’ve allowed.

Next steps

The Bears hope to get some payback for a season-opening loss at Soldier Field when they visit Minnesota on Sunday. The Vikings rallied from 11 points down in the fourth quarter to beat Chicago 27-24.

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