The Bears hired Matt Nagy in 2018 to replicate the Chiefs offense, but he never could.
His best season was his first, when the Bears finished ninth in the NFL in points but only 21st in yards, the beneficiary of a league-best defense that gave Mitch Trubisky short fields and less-than-stressful end game situations.
The Bears hired Ben Johnson in January to replicate the Lions’ success. So far, it’s going better than any offense Nagy ever put together. Through eight games — roughly the halfway point of a 17-game slate — the Bears rank sixth in the NFL in points scored and fourth in yards gained.
Even against bad defenses and with up-and-down quarterback play, the Bears appear to have proof-of-concept that Johnson’s scheme works. Around these parts, that’s remarkable.
Consider:
• Just last year, the Bears ranked 28th in points and dead last in yards.
• Since Mike Ditka was fired after the 1992 season, the Bears have finished in the top half of the league in scoring just seven times.
• The Bears have finished in the bottom 10 in scoring in two-thirds of their seasons since Lovie Smith was fired after the 2012 season.
“We trust in Ben,” receiver Olamide Zaccheaus said Thursday. “We see his vision every week and we try to bring it to life. But there are things we can do to take it to another level.”
That’s true on defense, too, where the Bears are allowing 28.4 points per game, the fourth-most in the NFL. As the head coach, it’s Johnson’s job to fix that. Bears history shows how essential that will be, both this season and moving forward.
In 2013, head coach Marc Trestman’s offense scored 445 points, the most since the Bears’ hallowed 1985 season and the second-most in team history. The defense, schemed by coordinator Mel Tucker, gave up 478, the most in franchise history.
After the following season, both were fired.
The Bears are used to having unbalanced teams. It’s just so rare that it tips to the side of the offense.
In Week 2, the Bears gave up 8.8 yards per play, the most in the NFL all year. Last week, they gave up 7.6, the seventh-most. Fifteen of the 35 points they gave up on defense came in the last two minutes.
“There’s a lot of things that we need to fix,” defensive coordinator Dennis Allen said.
The Bears’ offensive isn’t just a result of having more chances because of their struggling defense — they’re fourth in the NFL at 5.91 yards per play. While quarterback Caleb Williams has yet to miss a snap this season because of injury, Johnson has had to navigate missed starts by both starting tackles, both prominent tight ends and running back D’Andre Swift.
The result: Bears have the league’s second-best rushing offense and rank 10th in passing yards.
Such gaudy numbers might prove fleeting, given the lackluster defenses the Bears have played — six of the bottom 11, in terms of points allowed, with a seventh, the Giants due up Sunday — and how many quality ones remain on their schedule.
It’s clear, though, the offense Johnson installed is working.
“It helps with your confidence … ” said running backs coach Eric Bieniemy, who was part of Nagy’s Chiefs teams. “Right now, the story is, hey, yeah, we’re doing good. But now we gotta make sure we can do consistent behavior on tape each and every week. That’s what this is about now.”
