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Chicago Bears first-year head coach Ben Johnson already came under fire in the first game of the season against the Minnesota Vikings as he watched a fourth-quarter lead slip away.
NFL legend Peyton Manning, one half of the hosts on ESPN’s “ManningCast” during the Monday night games, criticized how Johnson handled a key moment following a Caleb Williams touchdown pass to Rome Odunze.
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Chicago’s touchdown came with 2:02 left. The Bears had one timeout left and it may have been a good idea for the ensuing kickoff to go out of bounds to have the clock stop at the two-minute warning. Instead, the kickoff went to Vikings returner Ty Chandler and Minnesota head coach Kevin O’Connell signaled for Chandler to take the ball out. The two-minute stoppage was burned and the Bears had very little time to do any kind of offense on their next possession.
Manning was heard on the alternative broadcast saying the Bears should have just kicked it out of bounds.
“Kevin O’Connell said they spent a ton of time on situational football,” he said after the Bears scored, via Pro Football Talk. “This should be good situational football for both sides right here. The kick return team for Minnesota has got to run it out, and if they onside kick, Minnesota’s got to find a way to make it take two seconds.”
As the Bears decided to kick the ball away instead of going for an onside kick, Manning was sure they would kick it out of bounds. But they didn’t.
“Kick it out of bounds. Take the penalty, it’s on the 40,” he said. “Now you’ve got the timeout and the two-minute warning. Out of bounds. Not out of the end zone, out of bounds.”
Johnson admitted during the postgame press conference that kicking the ball into the end zone wasn’t the intent.
The Bears’ defense allowed 21 points in the fourth quarter. Chicago lost the game, 27-24.
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