The juiciest Ben Johnson matchup with an NFC North rival coach won’t happen until Dec. 7, when the Bears’ head coach faces the guy he loved to beat as the Lions’ offensive coordinator — Packers coach Matt LaFleur. But until then, Johnson vs. Brian Flores will do.
Johnson actually had even better success against Flores’ Vikings defense as the Lions’ offensive coordinator than he did against LaFleur. The Lions were 4-0 in their matchups in 2023 and 2024, with Johnson’s offense consistently productive — 30, 30, 31 and 31 points and 389, 381, 391 and 394 total yards.
We know enough about Johnson by now to figure he took just as much joy out of that accomplishment as he did helping Dan Campbell go 5-1 against LaFleur and the Packers in 2022-24. It just doesn’t have the same impact at an introductory press conference.
The Johnson-Flores battle resumes Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium with a bit of a twist — for the first time, Johnson has to regain the upper hand after Flores’ defense paved the way for J.J. McCarthy to rally the Vikings to a 27-24 victory in Week 1 at Soldier Field.
Johnson was at a disadvantage in that matchup — it was his first game as a head coach, with an offense that was heavily leaning on its training wheels. (With the Lions, Johnson faced the Vikings in Weeks 16 and 18 in 2023 — his second season in that offense — and Week 7 off a bye and Week 18 in 2024.)
This time, it was Flores’ defense that reeled in Johnson’s offense. The Bears scored 10 points and gained 172 yards in the first half but were shut out and held to 79 yards on 24 plays in the second half until a desperation touchdown drive in the final 2:53 after the Vikings took a 27-17 lead.
Though they’re rooted in opposite sides of the ball, Johnson and Flores have a lot in common. Both are headstrong, aggressive guys who thrive on being unpredictable. In that season-opening game, the Bears were bracing for a barrage of blitzes, which Flores is known for — especially with a second-year quarterback and an offense playing in its first game together. But it didn’t happen. The Vikings, who blitz on 50% of their defensive snaps, were at 34% against the Bears. Caleb Williams was sacked twice.
“Each week is a little different. He has a different flavor,” Johnson said. “He played us a certain way Week 1 that was a little bit different than what maybe you would have seen the past couple of years, and you look at the past couple of weeks, he changes it up. A lot of it is based on who he has at his disposal. He does as good of a job as anybody making sure he puts his guys in a good spot and keeps the opposing play-caller guessing.”
Be that as it may, momentum favors Johnson this time. The Bears are seventh in the NFL in scoring. The Vikings are 18th in points allowed, with their defense allowing 21, 37, 24 and 27 points to the Eagles, Chargers, Lions and Ravens (with Lamar Jackson) in four games following their bye.
Then again, this will be the best scoring defense the Bears have faced since Week 3 against the Lions. So momentum might not matter. It’s up to Johnson to win his battle and make the difference.
When the Bears have the ball
Caleb Williams and the Bears’ offense get a chance to show more tangible improvement in a rematch against a Vikings defense that contained them in the second half in Week 1. Brian Flores’ defense ranks in the bottom half of the NFL in points allowed (18th, 23.7 per game), but on paper this is still the best defense the Bears have faced since Week 3 against the Lions, who are 13th in points allowed (22.2).
A week after the Bears’ offense underperformed against the Giants’ 28th-ranked defense — needing to score two touchdowns in the final four minutes to win 24-20 — the unit is emphasizing a stronger start, especially at U.S. Bank Stadium, where taking the crowd out of the game early is often a key to victory.
The Bears now have the running game to expect to do that almost every time out. They’ve averaged an NFL-best 183.4 rushing yards in five games since the bye to jump to second in rushing for the season.
The Vikings, who will be without pass rusher Jonathan Greenard (shoulder), are 22nd in the NFL in rush defense (125.6 yards per game). They held D’Andre Swift to 53 yards on 17 carries (3.1 average) in the opener, but the Bears are much improved since then.
When the Vikings have the ball
This is where the real intrigue is in this game, with Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy nursing a bruised right hand he suffered against the Ravens.
McCarthy beat the Bears with his resilience in the opener, recovering from a third-quarter pick-six to rush for one touchdown and throw for another in the final three minutes to rally the Vikings to victory. But he has been intermittently effective since returning in Week 9 after missing five games with an ankle injury (50.7% completions, 391 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions for a 65.0 rating in a victory over the Lions at Ford Field and a loss to the Ravens at home).
The Bears’ defense has been vulnerable all season when not taking the ball away — illustrated again last week, when they were about to lose to the Giants and Jaxson Dart (308 total yards in three quarters) before C.J. Gardner-Johnson forced Dart to fumble. The Vikings’ 16 giveaways are tied for the second-most in the NFL.
Linebacker T.J. Edwards (hand/hamstring) will miss his second consecutive game. (Noah Sewell replaced him last week.) Gardner-Johnson has provided a boost in two games since being acquired to fill in for injured slot cornerback Kyler Gordon. Vikings All-Pro receiver Justin Jefferson had a modest four receptions for 44 yards in the first matchup. He’s probably due after being held to 10 receptions for 84 yards in his last two games.