Bear Digest

One Ben Johnson trait Caleb Williams and Chicago Bears label most critical

When the game came down to the last minute the Bears had the answers and it's something they say they're drawing from their coach's personality.
Gene Chamberlain|
Caleb Williams celebrates after the blocked field goal gave the Bears a 25-24 win over the Raiders.
Caleb Williams celebrates after the blocked field goal gave the Bears a 25-24 win over the Raiders. | Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

In this story:

Chicago Bears

The Bears and wins in tight games are not exactly synonymous, especially after last year.

That's one of the major changes they're hoping occurs after Sundays 25-24 win at Las Vegas and the reason they think they're better equipped to handle tight and hectic finishes is a trait belonging to coach Ben Johnson.

Going into Sunday's win, they had lost six of their last seven one-score  games. That's games decided by a touchdown and conversion or less. They were 6-20 since 2022 and 9-23 in the last five seasons in such situations.

"It's huge, because at the end of the day, most games in this league are going to be close,

and it's not always going to be pretty, it's not going to be always the way we draw it up to go out and try to score 30, 40 points," safety Kevin Byard said. "They're going to be close games.

"So, just as a team, to be able to kind of take a  deep breath, still being able to be locked in and to play well late in those games when it's closer, it's huge for us."

Afterward, they were pointing at coach Ben Johnson's demeanor as a key factor. Quarterback Caleb Williams now has three fourth-quarter comebacks and two game-winning drives in 21 starts, although he could have had three more winners except for collapses under former coach Matt Eberflus.

"He provided belief and confidence he has in me," Williams said of Johnson. "From there, I went into the huddle and looked everybody in the eyes. This is the moment. This is where we go and win the game. Just trying to be as composed."

Williams being able to imitate Johnson's composure under fire can take him another step up in his development.

"I think that's been the growth, so being able to see the composure for me in those bad moments, those tough moments, maybe after a pick, where their guy comes from right in to the middle field, tips it, those are frustrating moments," Williams said. "Where those are moments that can change momentum.

"The guys look at me and they're like, ‘OK, he's composed. He's still strong-willed, that we're going to come out here, we're going to score his next drive, and maybe we don't, we're going to get up, we're going to fight, fall down seven times, get up eight. Keep swinging.’”

It wasn't merely the offense impacted by Johnson's attitude. The defense did its part by stopping the Raiders on third down on the final drive to force the field goal Josh Blackwell blocked.

"Kudos to the coaches," Byard said. "We go into halftime and we had, I don't  know how many passing yards and how many rushing yards, but it was below 100 total. So, when we got into that locker room, Ben’s calmness, his belief, his understanding of that's not our brand of football.

"That's what he told us, and we went back out there and we found ways to stop them, to move the ball down the field, and special teams on their job also.”

When a team reverses this trend and starts winning close games, and especially on the road, they're heading in the right direction.

"Everybody stayed the course, no one panicked whatsoever," Johnson said. "I thought we came in at halftime and we hit that reset button. That's what wetalked about, take a deep breath, and let's come out and play for 30 minutes and find a way to win."

More Chicago Bears News

X: BearsOnSI

Published
Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.