The Bears will need a short memory to rebound from the 24-10 loss to the Los Angeles Rams Monday night.
As is the case with most cornerbacks, Jaylon Johnson knows plenty about leaving the past in the past.
"I feel like that's a life trait," said Johnson. You can't dwell on the negative moments that happen in your life. You've got to just keep moving forward and try to improve. I mean, from the individual [standpoint], that's just my mindset and then that just comes with the position. You know you're going to get beat and you're going to give up some passes, so there's nothing to really dwell on. But as a team, there's nothing we can do to erase the L. We've just got to keep moving forward to get better and win."
Due to his status as a rookie starter and playing opposite Pro Bowler Kyle Fuller, Johnson has seen plenty of challenges from opposing quarterbacks. Johnson has been targeted in coverage 47 times but has only allowed 22 completions.
Johnson is currently fourth in the league with 10 passes defended, trailing a three-way tie for first place. He sees his early career success as a product of the Bears defense's culture.
"From a unit standpoint, a defensive unit," said Johnson, "we always just go out and play and we always motivate each other whether we're up or we're down. We don't let the energy really move up or down. We just try and keep a solid energy throughout the game. From a team standpoint and from a competitive standpoint, you always want to win and be on that high, so anything we can do to keep our team on a high is what we do."
On Sunday, Johnson will face a quarterback whose career spans the entirety of Johnson's conscious life for the second time this season. After acquitting himself against Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady in Week 5, Johnson will face Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints at Soldier Field.
"I haven't dug too much into him individually," said Johnson, "but i know with his track record what he has been able to do, and that offense is a very efficient offense as well. So I mean, just being able to dive into the offense as a whole, I know they have their strengths, but we just have to zone in and do what we've got to do."
The Saints hold the dubious distinction of being the only defense in the NFL to have more pass interference penalties than the Bears. Johnson said that the secondary would not let the high amount of penalties affect their play.
"We're going to keep being aggressive," said Johnson. "You don't want to start off soft and end up giving up plays. You'd rather be on a high and have to turn it down a little bit. I thought that's more of the attitude that we have. Make them call it, and we'll adjust our game from there."
Johnson added that he believes all his plays on the ball are clean until he hears otherwise.
"I'm not even worried about the flags until I see it," said Johnson. "I just try and play the ball. Being a defender, I never think that there's a flag. So I don't really expect too many flags."
