Bear Digest

Ben Johnson appears to immediately regret huge blunder

A cautious decision from Ben Johnson should serve as a lesson for the playoffs.
Pete Martuneac|
Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

Ben Johnson has been one of the most aggressive head coaches in the NFL in 2025 in terms of going for it on 4th down, and for good reason. His Chicago Bears feature the league's second-best rushing offense, and his offensive line is first and sixth in pass block and run block win rates per ESPN. Most importantly, the Bears have Caleb Williams, a budding superstar at quarterback who already has earned the nickname 'Iceman' for his heroics in 'gotta-have-it' situations (he fell agonizingly short of Bears history, by the way)

However, in a humiliating Week 18 loss to the Detroit Lions, Johnson's nerves got the better of him at the game's most critical moment, and he chose caution over aggression. Facing a 4th-and-five with just two minutes to go in a tie game, Johnson opted to punt the ball away, a decision he appeared to regret almost immediately.

During the two-minute warning, Johnson could be seen on the sideline with his signature scowl, shaking his head and muttering 'should have gone for it' to himself. And he was right. Chicago never got the ball back, as Detroit marched right down the field and made an easy field goal as time expired.

Johnson is still a rookie head coach with room to grow

On one hand, I get the decision. The Bears were at their own 31-yard line, and 4th-and-five is tough; you almost have to pass, which eliminates any guessing from the defense. Chicago still had three timeouts and just needed one stop from the defense.

However, Johnson had a front row seat to what had been an abysmal defensive performance from his team. Sure, they held the Lions to 16 up to that point, but Detroit only needed a field goal to win, and the way they were moving the ball, that seemed all but assured. Additionally, the offense had finally found its rhythm, and Williams had just completed a great pass to Kyle Monangai to turn 3rd-and-20 into 4th-and-five.

There's no guarantee that it would have worked, but after watching how the first 58 minutes of that game went, I can't understand why Johnson would take the ball out of Williams' hands in that moment. Hopefully he has already learned his lesson from this blunder and will adjust his decision-making process accordingly in the postseason.

Ben Johnso
David Banks-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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