Even Kevin Byard was shocked Ben Johnson didn’t go for 2

The Bears safety appreciated the faith Johnson put in his defense to get a stop on the first possession of overtime.

Dec 7, 2025; Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA; Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson looks on during the second quarter against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images | Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

After Ben Johnson all but admitted he intended to go for two to if the Bears had managed to score a touchdown at the end of Chicago’s last tilt with the Green Bay Packers, it seemed like a foregone conclusion that Johnson would play for the win at home when Caleb Williams’ touchdown throw landed in Jahdae Walker’s hands late in the fourth quarter.

But he didn’t.

Instead, the Bears opted for the extra point and allowed the game to go to overtime, counting on his defense to get a stop on Malik Willis and the Packers and score to win the game.

As much as Kevin Byard appreciated the confidence Johnson had shown in his unit, the veteran safety said he was surprised his head coach didn’t roll the dice.

"Honestly, [kicking the PAT] was a little bit surprising to me,” Byard explained to reporters after the Bears had salted away their 22-16 win. “Obviously, we didn't talk about it, but we was on the sideline, like, just kind of talking amongst each other, like, if we score right here, we're going for two, we're going for the win! Man, I think [Ben] just put his trust in the defense that we was going to go get a stop. No, like I said, it was surprising, because Ben is usually aggressive in those situations. But like I said, he must have known something. It helped us out for sure."

According to Johnson, the decision came down to a combination of stats and gut feeling.

“Two-point conversion success is under 50 percent, and I thought we had a better than 50 percent chance to win it in overtime,” he said in his postgame comments.

Ben Johnson on the decision to kick the PAT after Jahdae Walker’s TD: “Two-point conversion success is under 50% and I thought we had a better than 50% chance to win it in overtime.”

— CHGO Bears (@CHGO_Bears) December 21, 2025

Given the wind at Soldier Field, it might’ve been just as probable that something could’ve gone wrong with Cairo Santos’ extra-point attempt as with a two-point conversion. But in the end, it worked out.

Had Jordan Love been the quarterback for the Packers, one wonders if Johnson’s calculus would’ve changed, especially with some time left in the game for Love to squeeze a field goal out with three timeouts in the bank.

But with Love on the sidelines with a probable concussion, Willis had to shoulder the burden. And though he played very well for most of the game, his fumbled snap on the Packers’ overtime possession doomed Green Bay.

So while Johnson’s decision might have surprised a lot of people, perhaps Byard was right: maybe Johnson did know something about how this would turn out.

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