Ben Johnson puts it on Bears players to clean up the sloppy play

"We're double digits in penalties once again, we're not scoring in the red zone. We couldn't quite get off the field as often as we'd like on defense," Johnson said.

The penalties stacked up high again, with 11 for 79 yards to only six for 45 yards for the Ravens.

One obvious flag not called on Baltimore loomed large when DeAndre Hopkins got away with both offensive interference and grabbing the facemask of Bears cornerback Nahshon Wright with Baltimore facing third-and-7 at its own 48, then making the catch for the first down.

It would have meant getting the ball back for the Bears if called, and they trailed by a touchdown then with 3:23 to play. Then again, they couldn't get it into the end zone later on four plays from the 3-yard line or closer much like they couldn't get in on three plays from the 6 or closer before taking a field goal on the game's first drive.

"A lesson for myself is throughout the week, practice week or even in games is the momentum," Williams said. "We've got to find a way to get in the end zone and we've got to find a way to stop the bleeding when you start bleeding and I think I can do a better job with that helping out and leading these guys."

There's only so much a quarterback can be held responsible for in a game. One is throwing the interception to Nate Wiggins that ended their chance to tie or lead in the fourth quarter.

"He undercut the route and I could have led him in the route in front instead of trying to give him a shot right here," Williams said, pointing to his upper chest area. "He (Wiggins) made a great break on the play. It's just unfortunate where we were on the field and the situation."

That little difference of putting the ball on the chest area instead of leading him was a difference maker. The penalties are obvious problems.

A false start on Colston Loveland on third-and-1 that they converted later anyway, a phantom false start on Joe Thuney from his own 4-yard line just after the interception by Wiggins made the game difficult but not completely unmanageable.

They have 64 penalties for 533 yards while opponents have 36 for 254 yards. It's a huge obstacle to overcome. Sunday's very costly flags included the intentional grounding call on Williams right before halftime. It kept them from getting just a bit closer to give Cairo Santos a decent shot at a half-ending field goal to cut the deficit to 10-9. Later, those points could have made a difference.

Santos just couldn't come up with the needed leg on a try for a career-long 58-yarder.

"I think we've got to emphasize it more," Williams said. "I think that's what it comes down to.

"I think being able to emphasize it more, I think being able to talk about it more, figure it out, is where we're at. Just find the solution of why and find a solution to stop it because it's hurting us as an offense and a team."

It has been all year and continues to, as they've had more penalties and yards than opponents in every single game.

At 4-3 they're where they were last year after seven games and it can go two different ways. Last year it degenerated into a swirl straight down the drain.

Finding a way to clean it all up this year could be the difference in a winning or losing second half to their season.

"Some flashes of some explosive plays and some really good things happen but the penalties to me are what stands out first and foremost," Johnson said. "You know we still have some of the presnap issues where there's some occasional not getting lined up quite right. There's occasional not getting the motion quiet right. That stuff, it adds up and it hurts us. I think we get away with it occasionally but that's just not just the way you win in this league."

Johnson sounded like he's at wit's end with all of these flags. It's the first time he's seemed this frustrated with something since becoming head coach.

"And so, I really put it on the leaders there in that locker room to get this ship going in the right direction in that regard," he said. "Us coaches, we've been pounding that drum now for a while and we haven't gotten the results we've wanted. And so it's on the leaders here helping this team to get us right."

Coaches can't line up and do th executing, in the end.