4. Jaylon Johnson must build on his big game last week
Cornerback Jaylon Johnson has had a strong start to the season. In the two games he played, he’s only allowed three completions on nine targets. His 33 percent completion rate against ranks second in the NFL. The passer rating for quarterbacks targeting him is a paltry 2.8.
Additionally, Johnson has kept receivers from getting yards after the catch. Last season, he gave up 270 yards after the catch. That was an average of 6.1 extra yards he gave up after each catch. This season, he’s allowed just five yards after the catch. That’s 1.7 yards given up after each catch. That keeps the average yards per completion against him low. Last season it was at 15.8 yards per completion. This season, that total is just 7.3 yards per completion.
Johnson is playing like a top cornerback. He assumed that role once the Bears let go of Kyle Fuller. He looked forward to the challenge and it shows so far. Also, let’s not forget that last week he got his first career interception. Hopefully, it was the first of many.
Johnson will have his hands full. Jarvis Landry is out for this game after being put on IR but this game will mark the return of Odell Beckham Jr. That will likely be Johnson’s matchup and, though Beckham may be a little rusty, that will still demand a lot from the young cornerback.
If Johnson does his job and shuts down the receiver he covers it’ll go a long way to helping the Bears pull off an upset victory.