The Chicago Bears will battle the Washington Commanders on Monday Night Football, where they’re looking for redemption after last season’s heartbreaking Hail Mary loss while also looking to extend their win streak to three games.
But it won’t be an easy task against a Commanders team that possesses talent across the board and has some impressive coaches, led by head coach Dan Quinn. Washington is the clear favorite heading into this game, as they’re the most complete team, so Chicago is going to need to bring their best effort.
Head coach Ben Johnson lost to the Commanders, 45-31, in the NFC divisional round last year with the Detroit Lions. So what can he take from that game that could help the Bears pull off an upset in prime time?
“You need to play complementary football to beat this team,” Johnson said. “This is a really good football team. I think Dan Quinn is an outstanding coach. He has been, whether it was Atlanta or Washington now, it really doesn’t matter. He’s fielded good teams. These guys play hard. They play inspired football. There are a lot of similarities between what we faced a couple weeks ago with the Raiders and a Pete Carroll led team, and a Dan Quinn led team in my opinion.
“I think when you turn on the tape and you see special teams playing so fast, so violent, so physical, I think that says a lot about your football team. I like to think we do the same thing on our side led by (Special Teams Coordinator) Coach (Richard) Hightower there. But I can’t say enough good things about their identity. It’s physical, it’s fast, and you can tell that they’re a really unified group and they play well for each other.”
Despite starting the season on a two-game losing streak, the Bears have really embraced the identity of playing complementary football during their two-game winning streak against the Dallas Cowboys and Las Vegas Raiders, where the offense, defense and special teams have all done their part in keeping the success going.
We’ve seen the Bears master the art of playing complementary football. Now, it’s up to them to show they can finish the job against the Commanders this time around.
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This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Ben Johnson explains how Bears can beat Commanders
Reporting by Alyssa Barbieri, Bears Wire / Bears Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
