Ben Johnson offers hilarious take on Bears-Lions Thanksgiving game and timeout blunder

Ben Johnson offered a hilarious response to what he would have done in the Bears-Lions game, where Chicago's missed timeout decision cost them the win.
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Thanksgiving 2024 will forever sting for Chicago Bears fans. With 14 seconds on the clock and field goal range in sight, former coach Matt Eberflus left everyone baffled by not calling a timeout, handing then-Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson a 23-20 victory.

The Bears lost the game, Eberflus lost his job, and hope for the 2024 season was wiped away.

But, a rainbow follows every storm (or something like that), right?

That Eberflus blunder may have been the catalyst for the Bears landing Ben Johnson. If Chicago had pulled off a win in that game, Eberflus might still be at the helm today.

Maybe Bears fans do have something to be thankful for after all.

Chicago Bears new head coach Ben Johnson (right) with general manager Ryan Poles
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Ben Johnson won't have a problem calling timeouts

Johnson was introduced as the new Chicago Bears head coach on Wednesday and he's been on a media blitz over the last 24 hours. During one of his appearances, he addressed the infamous timeout that never happened.

His non-verbal response was epic. Check it out:

Johnson flashed the universal timeout symbol, acknowledging that, yeah, he would've done what every person other than Eberflus did: call a timeout!

It's refreshing to see a Bears head coach with a sense of humor, even if it comes at Eberflus' expense. Johnson quickly regained his composure and ultimately didn’t bite on Fox Sports host Danny Parkins' question about how he would've managed the clock.

"We're not going there today," Johnson replied. "We're not going there."

The Chicago Bears ushered in a new era this week, and it's already a lot of fun.

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Bryan Perez
BRYAN PEREZ

Bryan Perez founded and operated Bears Talk, a Chicago sports blog. Prior to that, he covered the Bears for USA Today’s Bears Wire and NBC Sports Chicago. In addition to his Chicago Bears coverage, Perez is a respected member of NFL Draft media and was a past winner of The Huddle's Mock Draft competition. Bryan's past life includes time as a Northeast scout for the CFL's Ottawa Redblacks.