It must have been hard for Ben Johnson to admit, given his area of expertise. But Sunday, he said, was the first time all year the Bears’ offense was what carried the team to victory.
Yes, it was against a defense that might end up as one of the worst of all time — none has ever allowed 260 passing yards and 160 rushing yards per game in a full season, the way the Bengals are now. But to paraphrase his locker room speech, Johnson wasn’t about to apologize.
“There were times this year that I felt like we won in spite of the offense,” the coach said Monday, one day after the Bears’ 47-42 win against the Bengals. “This was probably the first time I felt like the offense had a big say in us winning that game. And so that was encouraging to me, just for that phase.”
For his optimism to bear out, quarterback Caleb Williams needs to mix the best of what he showed Sunday — a unique athleticism — with more consistent quarterback play. The former is sexy, but the latter is what the Bears have needed for generations. That — and not Johnson’s trick plays — are what’s most important for Williams’ development starting Sunday at home against the Giants, where he has a chance to post back-to-back games with an above-league average passer rating for the first time all year.
Johnson thinks the Bears are contenders to win the NFC North and has been saying for weeks they plan to play their best football in December. Williams’ growth is essential for either claim to be taken seriously.
Sunday, Williams was too inconsistent in the pocket but produced a tremendous box score. He became the first player in NFL history to throw for at least 275 yards, run for 50 and catch 20 yards’ worth of passes. No starting NFL quarterback had caught two passes in a game since 1953. No Bears quarterback had thrown multiple touchdowns and caught one since 1985.
He was decisive when it was time to scramble, averaging 10.6 yards per carry, the second-highest total of his career.
“He can beat you any number of ways,” Johnson said. “Traditional quarterback play in the pocket. Really strong arm. Can throw the ball down the field. But also his legs add another element to the equation. I think we saw it [Sunday]. …That helped us extend some drives, and we needed it at certain times, so that was awesome. It worked out that way to where we were able to take advantage of that defense just a little bit, get them outnumbered on one side of the field and get the ball to him. It was good. It was good. He came through for us.”
He led a Bears offense that totaled 576 yards, their most in a game since 1980.
Amazing stat lines aren’t always synonymous with winning quarterback play, though. Bears fans lived through that with Williams’ predecessor, Justin Fields. He produced the second-greatest rushing season ever by a quarterback in 2023 and rewrote parts of the Bears record book — but he wasn’t a successful quarterback. Williams has already won as many career games as the Bears’ starter as Fields has.
Fields tortured the Bengals defense the week before Williams did, but Jets coach Aaron Glenn still hasn’t committed to him as his starting quarterback. Johnson, by contrast, sees a performance against the woeful defense as evidence of what Williams can become.
“It’s looking more like I want it to look, that he wants it to look like,” Johnson said.
One of the coach’s favorite plays, oddly enough, was an incompletion late in the first half. With 26 seconds to play, Williams dropped back, saw his receivers were covered and, in rhythm, stepped up in the pocket and checked the ball down to running back Brittain Brown. He threw the ball high and it fell to the ground.
It wasn’t a trick play — Williams didn’t catch a pass or take off running. It wasn’t even a successful play. But it was meaningful.
“That to me was what we want this quarterback to look like as he’s playing within the timing and the rhythm of this offense,” Johnson said. “And trusting his feet to take him through the progressions.”
The next challenge? Keep improving against increasingly better defenses.
“I think he’s starting to play faster,” Johnson said. “The more reps we’re getting on some of these concepts, he’s understanding the intent, the coverages that we’re really looking to get. And if we’re not getting those coverages, can we quickly get to No. 2, No. 3 or even look to run with that ball? It’s coming along nicely.”
