Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson has established himself as one of the best play callers in the NFL. Right up there with Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay. Monday night against the Philadelphia Eagles may have been one of his masterclasses. Just look at the situation. He is down to his third-string quarterback, Case Keenum. The Eagles are undefeated and have one of the most talented defenses in the NFL. Everybody, understandably, is picking them to win. Instead, Johnson has Keenum account for 3 touchdowns in a 27-7 blowout.
Part of that was having the quarterback well-prepared. However, Johnson’s true calling card has always been crafting some of the most bizarre play calls that most NFL coaches would never even think of. The Bears’ coach was in rare form in this game. There were multiple instances in which he threw things at the Eagles that no defense had ever prepared for. Easily the most widely discussed was when the Bears suddenly shifted right guard Jonah Jackson and right tackle Darnell Wright to the left side of the offensive line on a 3rd-and-1 play.
Moving receivers and tight ends around is one thing, but offensive linemen? That doesn’t happen unless there are injuries. It worked. The Bears got 6 yards to convert a crucial 3rd and 1.
Ben Johnson was doing this stuff all game long.
Leading 7-0 midway through the 2nd quarter, the Bears needed to create some cushion after a huge end zone interception by Dillon Thieneman. Johnson decided to try something truly diabolical. He had a relatively standard formation with tight end Cole Kmet in line to the right of Wright. Wide receiver Kalif Raymond is just outside of him. Fellow receiver Luther Burden then goes in motion, ending up to Raymond’s right. Nothing out of the ordinary so far. It looks like the Bears are preparing to run, which is why the Eagles are dropping guys into the box.
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Here’s where it gets wild. Right before the snap, Burden starts moving back to the left. Then the snap happens, and Raymond also goes that way, and both receivers go right through the C-gap between Kmet and Wright. This creates all sorts of confusion for the Eagles’ linebackers. As a result, Burden gets behind them almost immediately, allowing Keenum to hit him for 25 yards. This play kick-started a drive that would end with a field goal to make it 10-0
Naturally, he couldn’t end it without a trolling kill shot.
Philadelphia has long been known for the Tush Push. It is a play that’s been so successful over the past few years, and some teams even tried to get it banned. As the Bears drove down to the goal line ahead 20-7, Ben Johnson needed a way to deliver the killing blow. What better way than with a QB sneak? Except this wouldn’t be a Tush Push. Oh no, he had something much better. Both guards would pull to the outside. This would cause the defensive tackles to hesitate while the quarterback follows the center right into the end zone.
It’s called the “sucker sneak,” a creation of former Bears offensive coordinator Mike Martz.
All of this illustrates how Johnson’s brain works differently. One of the things that is so different about him is that he somehow manages to marry cutting-edge ideas with old-school thinking. A perfect marriage of past, present, and future. Most coaches don’t think that way. They have a set of ideas they have seen work and usually stick with that, occasionally sprinkling in some wrinkles to keep it fresh. Johnson is a true mad scientist.
