Bear Digest

One reason why the Bears are going to be a first quarter nightmare for defenses

Sluggish starts to games have defined the Chicago Bears over the last few years. Expect that to change dramatically in 2025.
Pete Martuneac|
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Chicago Bears

The 2024 NFL season was one that Chicago Bears fans were happy to leave in the past, and it was largely due to incompetent coaching. Several stories have since come to light that reflect the ineptitude of the previous regime, proving that quarterback Caleb Williams was right to have pre-draft concerns about coming to Chicago, but none more baffling than the midseason revelation that former offensive coordinator Shane Waldron was not scripting plays for the offense.

For those who don't know, scripting plays is a common practice in the NFL, especially with rookie quarterbacks. It's typically a selection of around 15 plays to start each game, allowing the offense to ease into the game, put their strongest foot forward, and probe the opposing defense a bit before the real chess match begins. Waldron's bizarre decision to forego scripted plays explains a lot about why Chicago often stumbled out of the gates in 2024, scoring just 10 first-quarter points in 9 games before Waldron was fired.

Luckily for Bears fans, new head coach and play-caller Ben Johnson will script plays, and, according to data from Pro Football Focus, his scripted plays are among the best in the NFL. Thomas Valentine, an analyst for PFF, ranked the 10 best teams in EPA on scripted plays in the 2024 season, and the Ben Johnson-led Detroit Lions checked in at No. 5.

Here's what Valentine had to say about Johnson's scripted plays: "Detroit had the highest touchdown rate (48.8%) and the second-highest scoring rate (62.8%) on scripted plays in 2024... the plan was simple: get Jared Goff under center, let the run game assert itself and then target big passing plays off play action. As always, the Lions feasted in 2024, and Ben Johnson’s influence was a major reason."

Ben Johnso
Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

Contrast that with Chicago's opening drive efforts last season, where they scored on just 3 of their 17 opening drives, only one of which was a touchdown. In fact, Chicago's offense delivered just one first-quarter lead (Week 12 vs Minnesota) and scored a grand total of 20 first-quarter points all season. It's little wonder that the Bears and Caleb Williams in particular struggled in 2024 when they constantly had to play from behind.

Expect that to change in a major way with Ben Johnson now calling the shots. Yes, those scripted play numbers were with Detroit, where he enjoyed arguably the best offensive line in the league. But Chicago took major steps to fix their own offensive line this year. It may not be No. 1 in the NFL, but this revamped offensive line landed in the Top 5 of PFF's rankings for 2025.

If Johnson was indeed the architect of Detroit's offensive juggernaut over the last three years, then he should be able to replicate that with a vastly improved Chicago offense, and, for the sake of Bears fans' collective sanity, we should see it right away with a pivotal Week 1 game against the Minnesota Vikings.

Ben Johnso
Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

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Pete Martuneac
PETE MARTUNEAC

A former Marine and Purdue Boilermaker, Pete has been covering the Chicago Bears since 2022 as a senior contributor on BearsTalk. He lives with his wife, two kids and loyal dog.

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