Everybody predicted the Philadelphia Eagles would roll the Chicago Bears on Monday night. It can be understood why. The Bears had just lost Caleb Williams to a hamstring injury. He is out for up to a month. Whenever a team has to go to its backup quarterbacks, it’s a major concern. Head coach Ben Johnson, for all of his celebrated football genius, had never called a game for anything other than former #1 overall picks. This would be uncharted territory for him. Would it end up mattering?
Not in the slightest.
Johnson cared little for the pre-game narrative. He had the Bears ready to go, punching the Eagles in the mouth with a touchdown on the opening drive. Case Keenum was terrific in the starting role, throwing for just shy of 250 yards with two touchdown passes and a touchdown run. The defense also did its part. Dillon Thieneman and T.J. Edwards had interceptions. Austin Booker forced a fumble. Dayo Odeyingbo and Montez Sweat both had sacks. The 27-7 beatdown was totally unexpected, and the first real confirmation that this Bears team is far more than just the Caleb Williams Show.
Ben Johnson passed the final test that great coaches must pass.
It’s one thing to win games when you have an uber-talented quarterback. Williams pulled them out of the fire a lot last season and would’ve again last week before his hamstring gave out. It is quite another thing to beat an undefeated team with a third-string backup who is 38 years old and hasn’t played in three years. Only great coaches do stuff like that. Johnson was a step ahead of Philadelphia all night. That is no small feat, considering he was going against Vic Fangio. It didn’t matter. Chicago grabbed the lead from the jump and never gave it up.
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Even when the Eagles seemed to grab momentum with their last-second touchdown of the first half to make it 10-7, it didn’t matter. Ben Johnson refused to let his guys panic. The defense forced a punt to open the 3rd and then Keenum led the offense on a field goal drive to settle things down. From there, the Bears put their foot on the gas, scoring two unanswered touchdowns to pull away 27-7.
This was a statement game. It was a message that Johnson isn’t just an offensive wunderkind. He’s a great head coach. It also shows that the Bears are a more complete football team than many realized.
This game proves a few things.
What happened last week was likely an anomaly more than anything. It was a mix of bad conditions, good defense, and poor execution that sank the Bears against Minnesota. The other two games that Chicago has played have been blowout victories. This offense isn’t even clicking on all cylinders, and it’s still putting up lots of points. Perhaps the biggest surprise is the defense, which has now allowed only 16 points over the last 2.5 games. Maybe last year wasn’t a fluke after all.
Things have a chance to get even better. The Bears’ next game is against the New York Jets, who have lost two in a row and likely won’t have star running back Breece Hall, who suffered a quad injury in Detroit. Then the Bears head to Green Bay to face a reeling Packers team. If this team is the one that shows up in those two games, the Bears could end up 5-1 before Williams even returns. All of the credit must go to Johnson for that.
