Bears CB Jaylon Johnson latest to question Matt Eberflus' handling of the Hail Mary

Chicago Bears players have taken turns sharing their thoughts about the shocking ending to the Washington Commanders that left them with an 18-15 loss when Jayden Daniels fired a Hail Mary pass that bounced into the hands of receiver Noah Brown with zeroes on the clock. Players like DJ Moore, Cole Kmet, and Kevin Byard all spoke up on Monday, sharing the thoughts they had about the various issues that led to the defeat. At certain points, they directly or indirectly called out head coach Matt Eberflus for specific play calls and decisions. You can add Jaylon Johnson to that list as well.

Johnson appeared on 670 The Score's Spiegel & Holmes show for his weekly hit on Monday, and naturally, he was asked about the final sequence. The Pro Bowl cornerback wasn't shy about the situation and shared what he thought the team should have done.

"It was a rushed situation when it didn’t have to be," Johnson said via Chris Emma. "I feel like we definitely could’ve slowed down. Just looking at it, I feel like we could’ve possibly took a timeout or something to get everybody situated, figure out who we were going to box out, kind of get everybody calmed down and ready for that last play. Of course, that didn’t happen. But at the end of the day, we knew our responsibilities. That definitely is something that goes without being said. We knew our responsibilities. But it’s a lot harder when you’re trying to figure things out on the go versus practice; it’s a controlled setting."

This isn't Johnson's first time speaking his mind about a decision his head coach made. He talked at the end of last season about specific calls made in the regular season finale against the Green Bay Packers. None of them were as egregious as what took place on Sunday, however. Eberflus doubled down when speaking to the media by saying the issue on the Hail Mary was execution-related, while the quick sideline play right before had no bearing on the outcome. Johnson and his teammates seem to disagree with him on that.

Like his other teammates, the fifth-year cornerback's words hold weight in the locker room as a team captain. Eberflus leans heavily on them, as well as the leadership council, and this will undoubtedly be the hot topic during their meetings. Now that certain criticism is starting to leak out in the media, though, it could be the start of a bigger problem for the coaching staff. They'll need to get things back on track quickly before their next game against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday.

This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Bears CB Jaylon Johnson latest to question handling of the Hail Mary