The Chicago Bears had been playing from behind for most of the game. They trailed 14-6 at one point in the first half. Then, with five minutes left, they were down 24-19. Only a touchdown would bring them a chance at victory. They needed this game. A loss would send them to 1-3 with almost zero hopes of making the playoffs. Caleb Williams had gotten no help from the run game all day. It would be on his shoulders. One can only imagine what was going through his head at the time. Head coach Ben Johnson knew that, so he took his quarterback aside and shared some words with him before the drive began.
Williams revealed what was said. The words were few, but the message they conveyed gave him all the confidence necessary to make something happen.
Those words did the trick. The Bears marched 69 yards in 11 plays, capped by a D’Andre Swift touchdown. Williams accounted for 60 of those yards through the air or with his legs. It was a gutty drive by a quarterback many keep saying isn’t cut out for the NFL. Stealing a game on the road with a 4th quarter comeback isn’t something bad QBs do. Williams took it from them, and Johnson was the guiding hand.
Ben Johnson is succeeding where many Bears coaches failed.
He is instilling an air of confidence in his young quarterback. While the head coach is tough on Williams in practice, he makes sure to pump him up when things get tough, like your classic boxing hype man. Ben Johnson knew his responsibility when the time came. Williams didn’t need a lecture. He needed a reminder of the type of great player he can be. Players feel like they can walk on air, hearing those things. This should remind people that Johnson is a smart coach.
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He may put on the persona of a hardass who is obsessed with details and never smiles. In reality, he understands the psychology that goes into his job. He must gauge how his players feel in given moments and adjust to use different motivational tools to help them. This is one example of that.
