Why Ben Johnson may be the Bears’ best move in decades: Telander

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CHICAGO - A few takeaways from the Chicago Bears stunning 24-15 win over the Philadelphia Eagles last Friday:

1. Ben Johnson is kinda ripped for an NFL head coach. (Noticed after shirt removal and crazed dance in the post-game locker room.) Imagine Andy Reid topless for contrast. Also, thanks for Wiener’s Circle free hotdogs, Ben!

2. Johnson has some offensive plays that put a tight end in motion, who then turns back and trap-blocks a lineman or linebacker, a scheme that seems to mystify opponents. The defense shifts, nobody is certain whether the tight end (Cole Kmet or Colston Loveland) is going out for a pass or stopping or whatever, and the play cleared some mighty holes for the Bears running backs Friday. How does 281 total rushing yards sound?

3. This Ben Johnson guy might be the Bears best acquisition since they snatched Walter Payton with the fourth pick in the 1975 draft. (Steve Bartkowski and Ken Huff were taken before Payton.) Previous to this, the Bears modern-day coaching selections have been mediocre to horrendous. They did indeed pay a bundle (how rare!) to sign Johnson, but they got the prize. There’s just something about Johnson’s stony, laser-focused demeanor on the sideline and his thoughtful and intelligent demeanor in personal relations that hints he’s an unusual dude. Like, real unusual.

4. Quarterback Caleb Williams is developing into a last-minute, gutsy guy, something hoped for from a top draft pick (No.1 in 2024). But while he works on his still-evolving passing accuracy, two other Bears pick-ups have made huge impacts for this 9-3 team.

Safety Kevin Byard (signed in March 2024 after being released by the Eagles) and guard Joe Thuney (acquired in March 2025 in a trade with the Chiefs) have been remarkable successes on defense and offense. Signing each was risky—Byard is 32, in his tenth season; Thuney is 33, also in his tenth season—and both cost a lot of money. But neither has missed a game since joining the Bears, and the payoff has been incredible.

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Byard leads the NFL in interceptions with six, and Thuney is an anchor on an offensive line that has cleared the way for the Bears to be the No. 2 rushing team in the NFL (1,846 yards, just 22 yards behind the leading Bills). It should be noted that Williams has been sacked only 19 times this season compared to 49 times after twelve games last year. This O-line rules.

The risks with Byard and Thuney were that they’d either lose their fire this late in their careers, get injured fast, or quickly age out of their past skills. None of that has happened. Well done, Bears front office. Now, the biggest take-away from the Eagles win: The Bears are 9-3, in first place in the NFC North and, dare we even think it, contenders for a spot in the Super Bowl. Yes, that may sound absurd for a team that was picked by most experts to finish near .500 or worse. But you have to start asking: What team is better?

We thought the Eagles were. The 2024 Super Bowl champions were favored by seven against the Bears. Now they’re 8-4. The Rams and Seahawks are both 9-3 and seem legit, and the 49ers are 9-4. But would any of those warm-weather folks be favored in an NFC playoff game at Soldier Field in late January, if the Bears can win their division?

In the AFC, if it ever came to that, who is better than the Bears? Maybe the 10-2 Patriots or the 10-2 Broncos? Maybe the lying-in-the-weeds 8-4 Bills?

Quarterback Drake Maye is playing amazingly well for the Patriots, keeping the debate alive about who got the best quarterback in the 2024 draft. Maye went two spots after Williams in the draft. And Broncos quarterback Bo Nix, taken twelfth in 2024, is doing enough to amazingly eke out game after game. The Broncos are 20-9 in his two years at the helm.

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So, in essence, here’s what the Bears season comes down to: the Green Bay Packers.

Everybody knows about the Cheesehead rivalry, but with two games in the next three weeks against their arch-enemies, the Bears have Packers’ focus beyond the norm. Win those two games, and they’re pretty much guaranteed the NFC North title and home field advantage for the playoffs.

And, yeah, lose them both and the 8-3-1 Packers would be in the driver’s seat. We won’t forget the longshot 7-5 Lions, either.

The Bears have scored only 6 points more than their opponents this year. That’s crazy to be so successful. But crazy things happen in this league, like when a young coach goes shirtless and nuts.

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Want more? Read some of Rick Telander’s recent columns for Fox 32:

The Source: This article was written by Rick Telander, a contributing sports columnist for FOX 32 Chicago.

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