Bear Digest

Ben Johnson, Caleb Williams flex on Bengals early in Week 9 with trick plays

The Chicago Bears hired Ben Johnson in part for his trick plays, and that's paying off early in Week 9.
Pete Martuneac|
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Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears got a taste of their own medicine to start their Week 9 matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals. For a team that once saw Hall of Fame return specialist Devin Hester spot them a touchdown to begin a game, it had to be disappointing to see it happen to them as Cincinnati's Charlie Jones took the opening kickoff all the way back for a touchdown.

Facing an early 0-7 deficit in a game where they are heavily favored to win, the Bears needed Caleb Williams and the offense to respond, and respond they did with a methodical touchdown drive that included converting on 3rd down and 4th down. Ben Johnson in particular showed off what made him so highly regarded as a head coaching candidate: his penchant for trick plays that go for big gains.

Chicago's offense actually attempted two trick plays, though one ended up incomplete. Cole Kmet motioned under center to take the snap while Williams retreated to the backfield. He pitched it to Williams, who ran left before tossing it back to Kmet, who fired a good pass to Rome Odunze. It would have gone for a big gain, but Cincinnati challenged that ruling of a completed pass and won.

Luckily, this did not end their drive. Chicago ended up in a 4th-and-goal situation just a few plays later and, after a failed 3rd-and-goal run by Kyle Monangai, who headlines Chicago's keys to victory in Week 9, Johnson once again dug into his bag of tricks, getting Caleb Williams his first ever receiving touchdown.

It was risky to trust a quarterback to catch the ball in the endzone on fourth down, but Johnson has already proven how aggressive of a coach he is, and usually it pays off as it did here, much to the delight of Bears fans everywhere. Additionally, succesful trick plays can put the defense on their back foot for the rest of the game. They don't want to get caught off-guard again and may not pursue a ball carrier quite so aggressively.

The Bears are going to need a lot more of this from its offense if they want to win this one, as neither the special teams unit, who nearly allowed another kickoff return touchdown, nor the defense are playing well to start this game.

Ben Johnso
Kiyoshi Mio-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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