Windy City Gridiron
Is Johnson’s highly touted offensive mind finally the difference maker in Chicago?
*Hey everyone — just a quick intro! My name’s Gary Baugher Jr., and I’m pumped to be joining Windy City Gridiron as a contributing writer. I’ve been a die-hard Bears fan for 35 years and spent over 16 years around organized football. I love talking all things football, especially diving into quarterback game reviews. Can’t wait to share my thoughts and connect with you all both this off-season and regular season!
It’s been over five months since the dust settled after the Chicago Bears pried highly touted offensive coordinator Ben Johnson from the division rival Detroit Lions’ claws. In a move that even many Bears fans didn’t expect, the Bears, for once, landed the most in-demand coaching prospect on the market.
Dreams of finally seeing this franchise’s first 4,000-yard and 30-touchdown passer began to run rampant on social media — myself included.
After a deflating 45–31 loss to the Washington Commanders in the NFC Divisional Round, Ben Johnson swapped Honolulu Blue for Navy and Orange — trading former first overall pick Jared Goff for the 2024 first overall pick, Caleb Williams.
Caleb Williams’ season is well documented. Despite a tumultuous rookie campaign that saw both his offensive coordinator and head coach fired mid season for the first time in team history, He managed to set both a rookie and franchise mark in total yards (4,031), franchise rookie marks in Completions (351) Touchdowns (20) and Passer Rating (87.8) all the while setting the NFL rookie record for pass attempted without an Interception with 354.
Ben Johnson even highlighted Caleb Williams’ talent specifically as a reason why he chose to come to Chicago:
“There is no doubt Caleb played a large component into my decision, he is a phenomenal talent that had, as many Quarterbacks do, an up and down rookie year. Where I see my role is as a supporter of him, this offense will be calibrated with him in mind.” - Ben Johnson on Caleb Williams
Ben Johnson is no stranger to producing gaudy offensive numbers, having led a top-10 scoring offense in every season during his time in Detroit. He capped it all off by engineering the fourth-highest scoring offense in NFL history — a unit that racked up 564 points, or just under five touchdowns per game.
So what does this mean for the 2025 Chicago Bears? Let’s take a dive.
Historically, Johnson calls a very balanced offense, with a Pass/Run call split in line with NFL averages. With both his passing and rushing offenses finishing no worse than 11th during his tenure with the Lions.
Ben Johnson is a strong proponent of using the ground game to set up the pass. By mixing inside and outside zone schemes with a wide range of concepts—jet sweeps, counters, pin-and-pull, and gap runs—his rushing attack keeps defenses off balance.
Whether out of play action or traditional dropbacks, Johnson frequently employs...
