October 27, 2024. As then-offensive coordinator Ben Johnson was likely still celebrating the Detroit Lions’ 52-14 mauling of the Tennessee Titans, a little over 500 miles away in Summerfield, Maryland, home of the Washington Commanders, the Chicago Bears were caught up in the immediate aftermath of a play now known around the Windy City as ‘The Fail Mary.’
From that point on, a once promising Bears season went sideways. Actually, that’s inaccurate. Saying that the Bears season went sideways at this point is like suggesting that the Titanic took on a little bit of water or saying that Blockbuster Video is a struggling business.
The Chicago Bears 2024 campaign effectively died with one play. One image that is still burned into the brains of Bears fans all across the country who sat helplessly on their couches as the ball bounced right into the waiting hands of Noah Brown.
(Yes, I speak from experience.)
Even if it’s true that Ben Johnson had eyes for the Chicago Bears head coaching job a full year before he was hired, there’s no way he could’ve known in that moment back in October 2024 that not even a full year later, he’d be donning the Navy Blue and Orange on Chicago’s sideline when the Bears returned to the scene of the crime. But that’s the exact position the first-time head coach will find himself in this Monday when the Bears once again visit Northwest Stadium.
Understandably, when Ben Johnson has been asked about his team’s return to D.C., the 39-year-old offensive whiz is quick to provide a reminder that he wasn’t around in 2024, and that this team is a different team than the team that saw their 4-2 record turn into a 4-12 record thanks in large part to the outcome of that one play.
“You’d have to talk to those guys about it,” Johnson said when asked about the lingering impact of the play. “We’re a new team and we’re just focused on winning this game this week.”
For the record, I do believe this is the correct approach for Ben Johnson to take. It would come off almost as disingenuous if he were to use that play, one that he probably didn’t even see live as it happened, as a motivational tool this week. However, Johnson can’t just assume that his players won’t have that in the back of their minds on Monday night.
Bears Players Ready to Put Fail Mary Behind Them
A play as devastating as this one, and one that had such catastrophic consequences over the course of the two months that followed, is bound to remain etched into one’s football psyche for years, if not a lifetime. But just because these scars still exist, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the Bears are ready to talk about them.
“I think everybody’s just on the hush now and just ready to attack this game and not let that happen again,” Bears receiver DJ Moore said, according to Kevin Patra of NFL.com.
“Honestly, there hasn’t been a ton of talk as far as like what happened last season on. I don’t think like anyone is really focused on that except for like going out there and winning,” added Kyler Gordon, who missed that game last October. “I wasn’t even there last year so to me it’s like go with everybody and change the narrative.”
Changing the narrative feels like an appropriate theme for this entire Bears season, and it was captured perfectly when veteran safety Kevin Byard accepted a game ball from Ben Johnson after Chicago’s come-from-behind, last-second 25-24 win over the Las Vegas Raiders back in Week 4.
“The book on this team is that if we get the game close, we was gonna lose. And what did we do today? That’s a culture win, fellas,” Byard told his Bears teammates. “We talk about changing the culture, that’s how you do it!”
A win in Washington would do a whole lot for the culture in the Bears locker room, and that’s all fine and good, but the way Ben Johnson sees things, there’s still a lot of work this team needs to do on the field.
Ben Johnson Bothered by Chicago’s Inconsistent Offense
Considering how much of a detail-oriented sicko Ben Johnson is — and trust me, I use that term endearingly — you just know it’s driving him crazy to watch this team consistently have to overcome self-inflicted wounds to have success.
The amount of pre-snap penalties the Bears offense has dealt with through only four games is infuriating, and it’s cast a shadow on how great things have been elsewhere. Chicago is among the league leaders in explosive plays — passes over 20 yards, runs over 10 yards — yet the Bears rank just 11th in scoring and 17th in total yardage.
“Offensively, we’re still a work in progress,” Johnson said, per Larry Mayer of ChicagoBears.com. “Some things we’re doing well, some things we’re not. The inconsistent nature with which we’re playing, we’re shooting ourselves in the foot quite a bit. And when I look at where we were through the first four weeks, [there have been] a lot of penalties … we were playing behind the sticks, and you can certainly feel that as I was calling [plays].”
Don’t expect there to be any panic just yet in the Windy City. The way Ben Johnson sees it, this team — a new team — is still getting used to playing with each other.
“The guys are playing hard. They are playing for each other,” Johnson added. “We’re doing a good job of getting that squared away and I think good things will happen the more time we spend together.”
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