Bears coach Ben Johnson says his team's practice habits aren't 'championship-caliber'

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LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — Chicago Bears coach Ben Johnson called out his team on Wednesday, saying his players aren't practicing hard enough.

“I think our practice habits are yet to reflect a championship-caliber team,” he said.

Asked specifically which practice habits aren't “championship-caliber,” Johnson gave a lengthy list.

“We should be going to the football, finishing hard,” he said. “We talk about it all the time with the offensive players that our fundamentals, our finish and our technique, they need to show up in walk-through, they need to show up on the practice field. That’s how it shows up on game day. Simple things of how do we properly block? How do we catch the ball? How do we block after the catch? Ball security and things like that. It’s the little things that you learn in youth league football that even at this level, they make a huge difference.”

Johnson's comments came in the wake of a 52-21 rout at Detroit on Sunday. The 52 points allowed were three shy of the franchise record and the most since the Bears lost 55-14 to Green Bay in Week 10 of the 2014 season.

Chicago has allowed 73 points over the past five quarters. Minnesota rallied from 11 points down in the fourth quarter for a 27-24 win with J.J. McCarthy leading the comeback in his first start.

Johnson is in his first head coaching job. He was one of the most sought-after candidates on the head coaching market following a successful run as Detroit's offensive coordinator.

Chicago hosts Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys this week.

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