4 things we learned from the Chicago Bears, including poor starts, Jaylon Johnson’s status and activating N’Keal Harry

The Chicago Bears must make a quick turnaround from Sunday’s 29-22 loss to the Minnesota Vikings to Thursday night’s meeting with the Washington Commanders at Soldier Field.

Bears coach Matt Eberflus and players spoke with reporters Monday at Halas Hall as the team tries to recover quickly and move on. Here are four things we heard.

It has been a running theme this year that the Bears have been better in the second half.

Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins’ winning fourth-quarter touchdown run Sunday was the first time the Bears defense has allowed an opponent in the end zone after halftime this season. But Cousins had 217 of his 296 passing yards in the first half and completed his first 17 passes.

“We made some adjustments schematically that kind of helped a little bit,” linebacker Nicholas Morrow said. “And then when you get in the game, you get a feel of how they’re trying to attack us, so then you can anticipate a little bit more. That helps too.”

Eberflus sees the second-half performance, which includes Sunday’s comeback from an 18-point deficit, as a testament to the team’s finishing mentality. But he also recognizes the coaching staff needs to help the players start better.

He said the staff will have more time after Thursday’s game to talk about how they can alter practice, pregame routines or in-game adjustments to address the issue.

“You have to look at everything,” Eberflus said. “It’s probably a combination of those things. Sometimes it’s just a mindset. It’s a mentality. Right now we have a great mentality for the second half, coming out and playing tough and playing strong and having stamina and all those things we talk about. But we’ve got to come out fast and start fast.”

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The Bears were to have walk-throughs Monday and Tuesday to help the players get their bodies right ahead of Thursday. They will hold a rare day-before-the-game practice in helmets Wednesday, focusing on red-zone work. And they will hold meetings and walk-throughs during the day Thursday.

“It’s a lot of mental work,” Eberflus said. “It’s a lot of walk-throughs. It’s a lot of film study with the players and coaches, players on their own. So you’ve got to be prepared mentally because you’re already almost in the 48-hour preparation. It’s pretty tight.”

The Bears had to give injury estimations for their walk-through Monday and listed cornerback Jaylon Johnson as practicing in full.

Johnson didn’t play against the Vikings as he continues to recover from a quadriceps injury.

“They’re going to do some workouts with him today after our walk-through to see where he is, and we’re hopeful that he’ll be able to go,” Eberflus said.

The move comes just five days after Harry returned to practice following ankle surgery in August.

Harry has had limited practice time with quarterback Justin Fields after missing most of training camp. But the Bears need more reliable wide receiver options after several mistakes Sunday.

Dante Pettis had two third-down drops. Ihmir Smith-Marsette had Vikings cornerback Cameron Dantzler rip the football from his hands when he should have gotten out of bounds on a potential tying or winning drive.

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And Smith-Marsette also was called for an illegal block above the waist that nullified a Fields touchdown, though Eberflus didn’t have much to criticize about the play, which even Dantzler admitted involved some acting.

“(Smith-Marsette) got in position,” Eberflus said. “I thought it was great effort. And just at the end, the guy kind of spun and threw his arms up and they called it. And that’s the way it goes sometimes.”

Fields undoubtedly took a step forward from a rocky first month by completing 15 of 21 passes for 208 yards and a touchdown and rushing for 47 yards on eight carries.

Eberflus and Montgomery mentioned Fields’ sense of calm as he helped the Bears come back from their first-half deficit to take the lead before ultimately losing.

“If your quarterback can be calm in hostile situations, I have no other choice but to be calm because he’s the one calling shots,” Montgomery said. “So if he’s out there calm and he’s chilling, I’ve got to be the same way. I can’t flinch if he ain’t flinching.”

Eberflus said he saw increased comfort from Fields and the coaching staff Sunday.

“The coaches are getting comfortable with him as you go through the process — what guys are good at and really playing to his strengths,” Eberflus said. “And that’s for any coach. You feel more comfortable the more time you spend with a certain player.”