Bears CB Jaylon Johnson grateful for Aaron Rodgers' endorsement
Although Chicago Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson recorded just two tackles in Sunday’s 28-19 loss to Green Bay, he still earned the admiration of Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
The four-time NFL MVP called Johnson a “premier player” during his postgame media availability at Soldier Field, offering further validation of what the third-year cornerback has believed all along: that he’s among the best at his position.
“Being on a losing team, people look down on everything you do individually,” Johnson said, via the Chicago Sun-Times. “It’ like, ‘Oh, the Bears are a [s---]-show. The Bears are this. The Bears are that.’ It’s hard to gain popularity votes when there’s so much negativity from the outside.
“…I play the game with a lot of pride and respect. Getting interceptions isn’t the only way to impact the game [or] get respect. Your peers validate you. Not the media. …To me it’s not about popularity. It’s about what my peers believe of me — my team, the quarterbacks and people on the offensive side that I play against.”
Against the Packers, Johnson was targeted just once (against rookie wideout Christian Watson) on 35 coverage snaps, not allowing a completion, per Pro Football Focus. It was the second time this year in which he did not allow a completion, and it’s the fifth game he allowed a completion percentage of 50 percent or less.
Through 10 games, Johnson has recorded 24 tackles, four pass breakups and four forced incompletions while allowing just one touchdown on 306 coverage snaps.
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