Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson hates losing in general. Losing to the Green Bay Packers must especially burn him. So you can rest assured the Atlanta Falcons will be getting his best shot on Sunday. It won’t be easy. The Falcons have played much better football for the past month, riding Bijan Robinson and Drake London to major offensive success. Their defense has also been among the league’s best at stopping the run and applying pressure on the quarterback. Johnson can’t afford another down week in a pivotal NFC matchup.
Thankfully, there is one thing working to his advantage. He’s already seen the type of game plan he can deploy against the Falcons. That came courtesy of his former protege, Declan Doyler. The former Bears offensive coordinator took over the Baltimore Ravens’ offense this offseason and is having tons of success. His unit put up 30 points against Atlanta last Sunday night despite not having quarterback Lamar Jackson in the lineup. This was done through a creative game plan that used lots of misdirection in the running game and gave quarterback Tyler Huntley as many easy throws as possible.
Only three traveled beyond 15 yards through the air all game.
Ben Johnson runs a very similar style of offense.
Former quarterback Dan Orlovsky said as much on ESPN. Chicago does three specific things that the Falcons seemed to really struggle with against Baltimore. They didn’t defend the zone-running game well at all. The Ravens also had lots of success with screen passes. Last but not least, Baltimore receivers and tight ends took advantage of Atlanta’s poor tackling for yards after the catch. Chicago is 12th in the NFL with 568 yards after the catch. They’ve also had the second-most zone runs in the NFL this season with 106, trailing only the Falcons with 110.
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What remains uncertain for Ben Johnson is what type of personnel he will have available on Sunday. Kyle Monangai has yet to practice as he still recovers from turf toe. D’Andre Swift also appears to be dealing with injuries of his own. The good news is the offensive line appears healthy, so the blocking should be good. Much depends on whether the running backs can take advantage. Roschon Johnson is not a good zone runner like Swift or Monangai. Perhaps that could mean somebody like Zavier Scott or Salvon Ahmed gets an opportunity. Both would also help in the screen game.
The task ahead is clear.
Johnson isn’t a fool. This will likely be a game where the Bears have to put up a lot of points to win. The defense is ailing badly. Montez Sweat was just suspended for two games. Dayo Odeyingbo and T.J. Edwards are likely to miss the game as well. Such losses will make it incredibly difficult to stop Atlanta’s loaded offense, led by Bijan Robinson and Drake London. Baltimore needed 30 points to secure a win. The Bears may need 35 or more if the defense plays anything like it did last week in Green Bay.
We know one thing. Johnson will be dialed in for this game. The Bears are averaging 28.83 points scored when coming off a loss under him. That should tell you Atlanta will be getting his best shot on Sunday. Doyle already provided the blueprint. All Johnson has to do is follow it, making minor adjustments to fit the personnel available.
