The Chicago Bears are 7-2 and riding a four-game winning streak, but veteran offensive lineman Jonah Jackson isn't celebrating Sunday's 27-24 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers without acknowledging what went wrong.
Despite another win, Jackson made it clear that Chicago's performance fell short of the standard the team expects.
"A win’s a win, so you’re obviously happy about it," Jackson said on Monday. "To our standard, it wasn’t exactly what we want it to be. There’s a lot of things on tape that we need to fix and clean up. Nothing that we can’t be better on next game."
It's difficult to argue with him.
The Bears committed five turnovers, including four interceptions by Caleb Williams, and nearly squandered a game they absolutely dominated in the first quarter.
Chicago's offense struggled to establish its running game, finishing with just 72 rushing yards against Tampa Bay. Even with Williams at quarterback, this offense has become defined by the run.
Not on Sunday night.
Fortunately, the defense delivered several game-changing plays, including Jaylon Johnson's 67-yard interception return for a touchdown. Cairo Santos eventually secured the victory with a last-second field goal.
Still, Jackson isn't interested in allowing the final score to overshadow the mistakes.
"You always got to be your toughest critic, and especially in a game like that where we kept it close and it probably shouldn’t have been."
Jackson has become one of the Bears' most important leaders because of comments like these.
Chicago has now proven they can survive ugly performances, something winning teams must occasionally do. But consistently overcoming five turnovers isn't a sustainable way to win.
With the Bears entering their bye week, Jackson and his teammates have an opportunity to correct what went wrong against the Bucs.
The Bears are winning games. Now the challenge is playing up to the standard they've established.
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