Chicago Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson stated he performed by means of ache and discomfort after an indirect damage — and wasn’t his regular self — throughout Sunday’s 31-30 loss to the Detroit Lions.
During his weekly look on the ”The Parkins & Spiegel Show” on WSCR-AM 670, Johnson, who was restricted in practices final week main as much as the sport, stated he performed by means of the ache as a result of “I feel like I still give my team the best opportunity to win even though I’m not necessarily at my fullest strength.”
The query of Johnson’s well being got here up with coach Matt Eberflus on Monday as a result of Johnson was on the heart of a few massive Lions performs, most notably a 44-yard go from Jared Goff to extensive receiver Tom Kennedy wherein Johnson uncharacteristically struggled to stay to Kennedy.
The Lions scored the successful landing two performs after that third-and-8 completion to cap a second-half comeback from 14 factors down.
When requested if Johnson’s damage affected him, Eberflus stated: “We don’t make excuses. He was out there playing. We’ve got to play.”
Johnson stated he understood the place his coach was coming from.
“There’s also a realism in it, too, in knowing that the player isn’t the same playing through pain,” Johnson stated. “That doesn’t change the expectation or the usual of play, after all. Everybody’s going to be graded equally all through the sport or all through the season, regardless of (if there are) accidents or not.
“But at the end of the day, I know and they know as well that I wasn’t my normal self out there. And I didn’t feel like that. But it was still enough to where I was able to be out there and they felt like I was able to be out there and still hold me to that standard. I definitely hear what he’s saying by that, but it was also a realistic outlook on it as well, knowing that I’m not 100%.”
On Friday, Johnson was listed as questionable to play due to his damage.
He began Sunday, however after making a deal with early within the second quarter, he motioned to be taken out of the sport and stayed on the sideline for the remainder of the drive. Playing in Johnson’s place, cornerback Lamar Jackson dedicated a go interference penalty ultimately zone on Kennedy, bringing the Lions to the 1-yard line. They scored 4 performs later.
Johnson returned later within the second quarter.
The follow-up query for Eberflus on Monday was if there are occasions coaches understand they shouldn’t have performed an injured participant, and Eberflus once more didn’t budge on his commonplace.
“These guys are pro athletes,” he stated. “These guys have been taking part in this sport a very long time, and finally it’s going to be as much as them. They say they’ll go, which means they’ll go, and we have now to belief them and we actually depart it as much as them.
“We know that there was some type of injury, but we leave it up to them. And those guys, when they say they’re going, they’re going.”
Johnson declined to talk to reporters after the sport and once more Monday afternoon. He stated on the Score he wanted a break from having to reply questions after a sport wherein he was in ache and didn’t carry out as much as his expectations.
But he defined on the present the problems he had taking part in by means of the damage.
“I know on one of the pivot routes I wasn’t as explosive out of my break as I normally am,” Johnson stated. “My different one, not having an excessive amount of of my explosion and my twitchiness that I usually have. My energy and stability wasn’t 100%. So I really feel like there have been just a few occasions the place I wasn’t in a position to go like I usually am to have the ability to cowl these routes.
“But I still could have put myself in a better position, even though that was the case. I still could have done some things better to help myself. But at the end of the day, I still played in a game and I still am responsible for those catches.”
Johnson additionally dedicated two of 4 penalties that helped a Lions landing drive within the fourth quarter, each for unlawful use of fingers. Eberflus stated Monday he thought the primary name was one however added on the second name, “And then from there, we obviously all saw the one.”
That second penalty negated a Jack Sanborn interception, and the Lions scored on the following play. Johnson stated he requested the official what he did fallacious.
“He said I got my hands in his face. He kept it as simple as that,” Johnson stated. “One of the coaches on their sideline even said that I punched him in his face. So I mean, I don’t know what they saw, but at the end of the day, it is what it is. It was called. But I definitely think that was a miss.”
Johnson disputed the notion it was a “rough day” — “I feel like I’ve had worse days than that day,” he stated — nevertheless it didn’t look like a simple one. Johnson, nevertheless, was ready for that.
“There’s not too much that will pull me out unless I absolutely can’t go,” he stated.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com