Jaylon Johnson Called Out For Dismal Effort on End of Half TD in Bears vs. Patriots

Jaylon Johnson's disastrous 2026 season just got worse at the end of the first half of the Week 7 game between the New England Patriots and Chicago Bears.

The Bears looked like they were going to cruise into halftime with a two-score lead after a Luther Burden score in the closing seconds of the first half on a pass from Caleb Williams.

However, after the Patriots got up to midfield on a big play to A.J. Brown, Drake Maye hit his running back, Rhamondre Stevenson, with a dump-off and Stevenson ended up taking it to the house, cutting the Bears lead to 20-13.

It was a total defensive breakdown, but Johnson's lack of effort was especially glaring, as he had a chance to tackle Stevenson before completly whiffing with his putrid attempt.

"He needs to be benched. He didn’t want to tackle Drake Maye, and now this. It looks like business decisions," one fan said.

"He doesn’t want to compete. It’s obvious," another fan said.

"Just cut him," said another Bears fan.

The frustration is understandable, as tackling hasn't been Johnson's only issue this season.

The veteran cornerback has not been good in coverage, either, as evidenced by his 78.6% completion rate and 130.7 passer rating when targeted going into Week 7.

Johnson's struggles are a continuation of his issues from last year, when he didn't play at the level we expect, either. That was chalked up to Johnson not being at 100%, but that excuse is no longer valid because Johnson has been healthy all season.

At this rate, Johnson may not be on the team next season. In fact, Johnson even admitted this is basically a contract year for him before the season started.

"This is definitely a contract year. We all know with the cap hit and all that stuff. It's definitely a contract year for me so at the end of the day, whether that's here or somewhere else, I gotta put it on tape that I am still a top guy," Johnson said.

According to Over The Cap, the Bears have an out in Johnson's contract in 2027. They would incur a $9 million dead-cap hit by cutting him, but also a cap savings of $16 million.

After what we've seen over seven weeks this season, it's safe to say Johnson is in serious danger of getting cut in the offseason. He needs a major turnaorund to avoid that fate.