Bear Digest

Ben Johnson reveals where blame for game-ending INT against Packers lies

The Chicago Bears finally failed on an attempted game-winning drive, and Ben Johnson knows what went wrong.
Pete Martuneac|
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Despite a horrendous start to the 211th meeting between the Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers, the Bears very nearly pulled out a win. A listless first half turned into a torrent of offensive production in the second half, but Chicago's late-game magic that has delivered five wins this season finally wore out. Caleb Williams threw an interception on fourth down, sealing another heartbreaking loss to the Packers.

On Monday, head coach Ben Johnson appeared on the ESPN1000 radio program to talk about the game. When asked about that final play, he gave a candid answer to whether the high-risk play worked or not.

According to Ben Johnson, the play design worked, and it got Cole Kmet open. In fact, it was the same exact play that the Bears ran late in the fourth quarter against the Eagles last week, and that time, Williams was able to hit Cole Kmet for the touchdown. So what went wrong this time?

In Johnson's estimation, Williams was late getting to Kmet in his progression. He said that if Williams "had seen Kmet a tad sooner", the play would have once again resulted in a touchdown.

The play worked, but was it a good call?

Nothing Johnson said was incorrect. Kmet did get open in the endzone, and if Williams had thrown a better ball, the Bears could have either tied the game at 28 apiece or gone for the win with a two-point conversion. However, this seemed like an odd play-call from a man who prides himself on trickery and deception.

As aforementioned, this is the exact same play the Bears ran a week ago, one that was highlighted over and over again on sports shows and social media. Why then, in such a critical game, did Johnson recycle this play design when any NFL defender worth his salt would have studied it very carefully in film reviews?

I also question the wisdom of running a play with such a high degree of difficulty on 4th down. Last week, this play came on 2nd-and-8, giving Williams a greater margin for error. But on 4th-and-1, that throw has to be perfect. Lead Kmet too far, and he ends up out of bounds. That thought may have been in Williams' mind, leading him to not put enough on that pass that fell well short.

The safer play would likely have been to run it straight up the gut (which the Bears had been doing with great success), bang a timeout, and get yourself a fresh set of downs. They'd be out of timeouts then, but close enough to the goal line that every play would be an endzone shot, mitigating time as a factor.

To reiterate, Williams absolutely has to throw a better ball in this scenario, but I think any blame he takes for this play must be shared with Johnson.

Caleb William
Wm. Glasheen/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Bears must be better, but their season rumbles on

Losing sucks, especially losing to a division rival, but nobody in the organization or fanbase should be panicking. Despite the loss to Green Bay, the sky isn't falling. In fact, the Bears may very well be able to take back the division lead in two weeks. In Week 15, they have a winnable game against the 3-10 Browns, while the Packers must face the red-hot Broncos. A Bears win and Packers loss in these games sets up another showdown in Week 16 to determine the NFC North leader, but this time at Soldier Field.

This is what meaningful football in December looks like, Bears fans. I know it's been a while since we've seen this in Chicago, but here it is. My advice is to enjoy the ride and trust the team to learn from its mistakes.

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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