4 things we heard from the Chicago Bears, including 4th down confusion and Jaylon Johnson’s pass interference call

Chicago Bears coach Matt Eberflus and two players met with reporters Monday at Halas Hall after the overtime loss of 30-27 to the Minnesota Vikings Sunday.

The bears get a quick treatment before Thursday’s game against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field. They were scheduled to have team meetings and a walkthrough Monday afternoon before resuming practice Tuesday to prepare for the 10-1 division leaders.

Here are four things we learned from Eberflus and his players.

1. Wide receiver DJ Moore expected discussion later Monday about the botched fourth-down play.

The Bears hadn’t held their team meeting when Moore met with reporters, but he expected to find out exactly what went wrong when the Bears decided to go for it on fourth-and-4 at the 27-yard line in the third quarter.

Kicker Cairo Santos initially ran onto the field before returning, and brief confusion caused the play to come later than desired. Quarterback Caleb Williams said he misunderstood what offensive coordinator Thomas Brown said and threw an incomplete pass to Keenan Allen.

“Everybody was pretty confused because I think we got the play call wrong,” Moore said. “I mean, Caleb said that yesterday. But that moment was like a ‘What’s going on?’ moment that we could have avoided.”

Eberflus said Sunday night that he needs to do a better job of communicating the plans to everyone so the call doesn’t come too late.

Week 12 photos: Minnesota Vikings 30, Chicago Bears 27 (OT)

2. Cornerback Jaylon Johnson relayed what the officials told him about his two pass interference penalties.

While Vikings wide receiver Jordan Addison broke out with eight catches for 162 yards, star receiver Justin Jefferson totaled two catches for 27 yards.

But Jefferson prompted Johnson into two pass-interference calls.

The first was a 35-yard penalty midway through the second quarter that negated a Jonathan Owens interception. The Vikings scored two plays later. Johnson said the official told him he pulled Jefferson’s jersey.

“I’m not saying I didn’t quickly yank his jersey,” Johnson said. “I don’t think it was enough to impede his progress getting to the ball, and again, as he pushes off me, I don’t see it as just hindering his progress to the ball. But he called it.”

The second came in the third quarter, a more questionable 10-yard penalty on a drive in which the Vikings did not score.

“I was in position,” Johnson said. “He made contact at the top of the route. (The official) said I knocked him off balance. Of course he will be knocked off balance. It runs into each other.

“At the end of the day, the calls didn’t come my way. They have their reasons for calling it, and that’s what it is.”

Johnson said frustration is naturally growing after the Bears defense gave up 452 yards against the Vikings. He pointed to their run defense — which allowed running back Aaron Jones to rush for 106 yards — and their inability to stop explosive plays as the two most glaring issues.

“I don’t walk around with a smile on my face,” Johnson said. “There’s nothing to be happy about. So I mean, obviously my frustration is at an all-time high. Everyone’s frustration is at an all-time high.”

3. Matt Eberflus again pointed to ‘technique’ on the second blocked field goal in two weeks.

A week after the Green Bay Packers blocked Santos’ potential game-winning field goal, Vikings defensive lineman Jerry Tillery got knocked down Santos’ 48-yard attempt in the second quarter.

Like that of the Packers, the block came against the left side of the Bears line, but slightly more outside.

“I just think it’s technique,” Eberflus said. “It’s getting your foot down, buckling up there, staying lower. We’ve just got to do a better job of that.”

Eberflus said the technique issue was highlighted in practice last week. Santos said Sunday night that he is also looking into his surgery.

4. Eberflus was pleased with the way Caleb Williams handled the Vikings’ defense.

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Much talk leading up to Sunday’s game was about how Williams would handle the Vikings’ pressureand Eberflus believed that the new quarterback excelled at the difficult test as he threw for 340 yards and two touchdowns while taking three sacks.

“Last week was a big challenge in front variation, coverage variation,” Eberflus said. “Pressure looks and then drops. Pressure looks and then pressure. And then being able to handle that, get the ball out in time, to be able to check to the guards at times when he needed to, which is also really good.

“And then being able to hit the ball downfield because that’s where the open spots were, based on what they presented to us during the season and then also yesterday. Really good job with the close throws and getting the ball in the room. The decision-making was really good.”

Williams was especially effective in the fourth quarter as he led three scoring drives to help the Bears force overtime.

Moore said the offense now needs to come together for a full game.

“If we could do that in the first three quarters, it will be great to see what we put up in terms of points and how many games we win,” he said.