Bears' Press Taylor Clears Up Common Misconception About Ben Johnson's Goal on Offense

The Chicago Bears' hiring of Ben Johnson as their head coach in 2025 received praise across the NFL world. Johnson's reputation as an offensive savant was seen as the Bears' best shot to unlock quarterback Caleb Williams' full potential after an underwhelming rookie season. However, there may be a slight misconception in Ben Johnson's exact offensive philosophy.

Johnson's offense is sometimes viewed as one that fixates on efficiency, a perception that may be colored by Johnson's previous work with Jared Goff, who is seen as the model for unspectacular yet efficient quarterbacks. In fact, it's this perception along with the common criticism of Caleb Williams' inability to play in structure that led some analysts to predict that this head coach-quarterback pairing wouldn't work.

However, offensive coordinator Press Taylor cleared the air while speaking to the Bears media on Wednesday morning. According to a tweet by beat reporter Adam Hoge of CHGO Bears, Taylor said, "I don't think Ben has ever mentioned the word efficiency. We talk about explosive. We are trying to attack a defense."

Taylor went on to say, "I think there's a perception of a lot of people, we're gonna run the ball, we're gonna stay efficient and control the clock... We don't look at the run game as a way to stay on track. We look at the run game as a way to attack defenses and really be explosive and continue to just put our foot on the gas the entire game."

Ben Johnson is right to value explosive plays over efficient ones

While it is true that NFL offenses must be efficient in order to win games, that can't be the ultimate goal. Efficiency only takes a team so far, and it's unlikely to prevail against top defenses if the threat of explosive plays isn't there. That's the role that star receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown played in Johnson's offense in Detroit, and a role which may elevate Luther Burden to the WR1 spot on the Bears' depth chart in 2026.

It's also true that Ben Johnson tends to be a run-first coach. He wants to establish the run, but not to control the clock, as Taylor said. For Johnson's offense, establishing the run is how he sets up explosive plays, which are his bread and butter. Once the explosive plays start hitting, defenses have to account for that, and that's when the run game itself can become explosive. It's a vicious cycle that, when run correctly, can absolutely flummox a defense.

As aforementioned, efficiency is important. For the Bears, and specifically Caleb Williams, they need to improve in that area in 2026 if they don't want to miss the playoffs. But efficiency in an offense is easier to teach than explosives. Like Williams' incredible off-script plays, you either have that ability or you don't, and once you learn to be efficient, the ceiling goes sky-high.

Ben Johnson's philosophy can make Caleb Williams an MVP in 2026

For Caleb Williams, this subtle difference in how Ben Johnson's offense is structured could make him a genuine MVP candidate in 2026. If Johnson was all about efficiency and controlling the clock, there wouldn't be much opportunity for Williams to flash those electric abilities that made him the consensus No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft. He'd be dink-and-dunking down the field, generating modest stats that might be good enough for an occasional Pro Bowl trip.

But that's not how Johnson operates. He runs the ball to set up explosive plays, and that's where Williams truly shines, like his flea-flicker touchdown to Luther Burden against the Dallas Cowboys last year, or his walk-off touchdown pass to DJ Moore to stun the Packers in overtime and take control of the NFC North. Now, with another year of experience in Johnson's system under his belt, Williams has the opportunity to set new franchise highs in 2026 and place himself firmly in MVP contention.

If all goes according to plan, the Bears will be a team that runs up the score every week and never lets up. Remember, Johnson doesn't believe in coasting to a win, and he's not afraid to dial up shots late in the fourth quarter when other coaches would try to run out the clock, and that could boost Williams' final stat line.

While Bears fans may prefer to see the team take another step forward and reach the NFC Championship game in 2026, that's tough to pull off. In a loaded NFC North division, even a playoff berth is far from guaranteed. In that event, at least an MVP-caliber season from Caleb Williams would be a pretty sweet consolation prize.

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