If you talk to any football experts about coaches with sterling reputations, chances are good that Brian Flores will come up. The Minnesota Vikings’ defensive coordinator has emerged as one of the brightest minds in the league on that side of the ball. He’s done this by being one of the most creative and aggressive play-callers in the league. Since 2023, when he took over the job, the Vikings have ranked #1 in blitz percentage in every single year. Opening day was no different as Flores blitzed Jordan Love and the Packers 40 times. It was a key to Minnesota’s second-half comeback. Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson isn’t ignorant of what he’s facing this weekend.
Flores gave his offense problems last year. The Bears managed just 17 and 19 points respectively in the two matchups between the teams. Johnson was asked if he ever feels like he’s falling into a trap of overthinking about what Flores may or may not know about his offensive plans. The head coach summed it up perfectly.
“I’m in that path right now.”
Needless to say, Johnson has a healthy amount of respect for his adversary and takes this challenge very seriously. The good news is his players aren’t nearly as inexperienced with the offensive system as they were last year. That could give them a greater advantage against Minnesota’s swirling maelstrom of an attack.
Ben Johnson understands the secret to what makes Flores great.
In many ways, it is the same thing that makes the Bears’ head coach great as a player caller, too. That is the ability always to bring something new to the table each week. When you think you have a grasp on what he’s doing, Flores will throw some unexpected wrinkles at you. That ability to constantly evolve is why he’s such a nightmare to prepare for. Johnson would know. He does the same thing, just on the offensive side. He said the best thing to do is prepare as much as you can and expect the unexpected.
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“You try to have answers for everything … you’d like to think he’s put everything he could possibly do on tape until you play him next and you realize he hasn’t yet. So it’ll be something new. There always is with him and that’s what makes him such a good coordinator. It’s a great challenge. It really is. You have a lot of fun on game day. Now the week of preparation is not so much fun, but you know, there’s a lot of back and forth that goes into it.”
One example of this was last season. In the first meeting on opening night of 2025, Flores blitzed around 34.9% of the snaps. While high, that isn’t what you’d consider abnormal. Then, in the week 11 rematch, he jacked that up to 66.7%. There is no consistency or trend to pick up on. No doubt that was by design. You can’t prepare for something like that. Knowing he will blitz isn’t enough. It is about how often. The good news for Chicago is that this tactic isn’t a guaranteed solution.
Caleb Williams doesn’t fear the blitz.
Carolina went after him 21 times on Sunday. He went 9-of-15 for 148 yards and a touchdown. Since his rookie year, Williams has thrown 24 touchdowns to just 7 interceptions when blitzed. His passer rating against it last year, 91.6, was actually better than when he wasn’t blitzed (84.3). This doesn’t include his dangerous scrambling ability. Teams that overcommit with pressure often leave gaping lanes for him to seize as a runner. It is why most teams use their rush to keep him in the pocket. Will Flores do the same?
Ben Johnson may not care about that. The running game drives his system. The 291 yards they racked up last week prove that. If you can run on Flores, his blitz packages tend to lose their potency. Chicago already proved it last year with 140 yards in their win in Minnesota. How that unfolds early in the game will dictate how the chess match goes. Johnson is preparing for anything.
