If the Chicago Bears drop to 0-3, their chances of making the playoffs are virtually over. So Coach Ben Johnson is choosing tough love, calling the team out for its lack of “championship-caliber” in practices. And it hasn’t just been words.

The Bears have backed it up with action, holding a practice session of more than two hours at the fields behind Halas Hall. This was right after Johnson’s press conference, which explains that his tough love has made a much-needed stir in players. For Tight End Colston Loveland, this is what the team needed. As Courtney Cronin reported, he said, “You got to smell the B.S. and whatever’s going on, and you’ve got to announce it and hold everyone accountable. I love that he’s doing that, and we could all definitely get better from that.”

Cornerback Tyreek Stevenson shared the same sentiment and stressed the change in effort and intensity, whether that’s straining through tough moments in practice or finding the energy to make key defensive plays late in games. The same competitive fire is seen in quarterback Caleb Williams.

“You can’t keep doing the same thing over and over again and think something’s going to change,” he said. “I think that’s the definition for insanity. And so we’ve got to change, and today’s practice I think was a step in the right direction.” Of course, Williams will have that extra bit of motivation in Week 3.

While Coach Johnson faced his former team Lions, in Week 2, this time it’s Williams’ turn to face his former coach, Matt Eberflus, the defensive coordinator for the Cowboys, who was responsible for making him a Bear.

When asked about his former coach, Williams admitted that he feels grateful for the coach to have faith in him after the draft. “He made that decision, and obviously everybody else (in the front office) was in here and being able to make that decision, making me a Chicago Bear,” he said.

“Obviously we didn’t win as much as we wanted, but we’re past that,” Williams admitted. That said, the QB would want to change that now.

Ben Johnson’s message to the Bears

Johnson admitted that the Lions simply played harder than the Bears. He didn’t mince his words while expressing that the team wasn’t putting in the effort needed by a championship contender. “We should be going to the football, finishing hard,” Johnson said.

He added, “We talk about it all the time with the offensive players that our fundamentals, our finish and our technique, they need to show up in walk through, they need to show up on the practice field. That’s how it shows up on game day…Ball security and things like that. It’s the little things that you learn in youth league football that even at this level, they make a huge difference.“

While Caleb Williams threw for 207 yards and 2 touchdowns, what cannot be ignored is that the Bears’ OL let him be sacked four times. Plus, it was yet another disappointing outing in terms of production for TE Colston Loveland and WR Luther Burden, who recorded just one reception in total.

Of course, it’s nothing that cannot be solved by ramping up practice, and the HC already seems to be on top of that.