Tick-tock

You could point out Calbe Williams’ inability to put together a strong performance over the course of four quarters or a secondary that trotted while Green Bay receivers zoomed, and that would help explain the Bears 28-21 loss to the Packers yesterday in Cheese Land. Or you could read all the epistles that have been and will be written about the game, and you won’t read the criticism that follows here—head coach Ben Johnson mismanaged the clock at the end of the game with his team down by seven. The Bears had a first down at the Green Bay 47 with 3:26 left to play in regulation; they managed all of two plays between then and the two-minute warning. My guess is that Johnson was being too smart by half, wanting to score and deny the Packers any time to answer. But they had the ball at the Packers’ 17 coming out of the warning. Then it was three straight runs, bringing up fourth-and-one at the 14 with 27 seconds left on the clock. Only then did Johnson use the first of his three timeouts. Why not a pass or two before? Say they score with a minute left. OK, challenge your defense to hold. Why not use a timeout or two rather than run down the clock and face a fourth down with just 27 seconds to go? Williams ended up throwing an interception in the end zone. I can’t help but think the result would’ve been different had Johnson not been so clock-focused. The Packers visit Soldier Field in twelve days. Let’s see what, if anything, Johnson has learned by then.