Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson wants to win Super Bowls. It is the primary reason he took his current job. However, his thinking isn’t limited to just that. Johnson isn’t afraid to dream big. He doesn’t just want to win titles. He wants to rewrite the record books. Why not shoot for greatness? For him, that means aiming for the greatest heights on offense. In this case, he stated at the beginning of this offseason that he wanted to break the 2013 Denver Broncos’ vaunted single-season scoring record of 606 points.
If you’re going to aim, aim high, right? Few records are more coveted than the most points in a season. All-time great quarterback Peyton Manning holds it. The Bears have never held a notable offensive record in the Super Bowl era. All of that is a good enough reason to go for it. However, one NFL coach told insider Matt Lombardo that Johnson’s actual reasoning is far simpler than that. This isn’t just about chasing greatness. It is also about covering up for a big-time team weakness.
At least one former NFL head coach, who requested anonymity, though, believes the state of Chicago’s defense was the impetus for Johnson shooting for the stars … and the record.
“The Bears were fortunate last year,” the coach tells Between The Hashmarks. “They got off the field because they intercepted the ball; it wasn’t like they could stop people.
“This is why Johnson is trying to be the highest-scoring offense in football. It’s fun to watch if you’re an offensive player or coach. Not so fun to play against if you’re on the other side of the ball.”
Does Ben Johnson see the writing on the wall?
He’d obviously never admit in public, but there seems to be a belief that his urgency to score so much was born out of little faith in his defense. One can hardly blame him. The unit was 23rd in points allowed last season. That was with leading the league in takeaways. One can only imagine how much worse it might’ve been without all those turnovers. Now you watched the unit give up 37 points in Carolina while forcing two takeaways. It was hard to watch. Bryce Young carved them up all afternoon, and that was with the pass rush actually playing pretty well.
One thing you know for certain about Ben Johnson is that he’s big on the truth. He isn’t the type of person who would delude himself into thinking the defense will somehow magically transform into a top 10-15 unit. Like the fans, he knows this group doesn’t have the horses to do that. The best he can hope for is the defense not getting totally trampled each week. It falls on him and the offense to pick up the slack. The only way to do that is by scoring more points than the opposition: all gas, no brakes.
🔥 Subscribe to the Untold Chicago YouTube channel to hear Chicago legends tell stories you’ve never seen in headlines — real moments, real experiences, straight from the athletes themselves.
This is hardly uncharted territory.
Many of the greatest offenses in NFL history were saddled with bad defenses. The 27th-ranked defense dragged down the famed 1981 San Diego Chargers. The 2000 St. Louis Rams were 31st in points allowed. Drew Brees and the electric 2011 New Orleans Saints were undone by their 24th-ranked defense. One must not forget the 2018 Kansas City Chiefs, who dragged the 31st-ranked defense to the AFC Championship. Heck, Ben Johnson is already familiar with this reality. He did it with the 2023 Lions, who were 23rd in points allowed.
Winning with a balanced team would be great. Unfortunately, the Bears don’t have one. They have become an offensively tilted football team. They would love to have a good defense, too. The sad reality is they haven’t done a good enough job building up that side of the ball. Blame GM Ryan Poles. Blame injuries. Various factors led to it. One thing remains clear. Until that problem gets cleaned up, the Bears will have to score to win.
