Ben Johnson Explained Viral Awkward Interview Moment During Bears-Raiders Game

Blake Silverman | Sep 29, 2025

Ben Johnson had an awkward interview moment during the Bears' win over the Raiders / Screengrab via CBS Sports

Ben Johnson's Bears earned their second win of the year Sunday in a thriller against the Raiders when they blocked Las Vegas' last-second field goal attempt for the win.

During the game, the first-year coach went viral for seemingly taking exception to a question (or perceived statement) from CBS Sports reporter Aditi Kinkhabwala in an interview after halftime. To end the interview, Kinkhabwala asked Johnson, "Do you need to change what you're doing?"

Johnson took the question as more of a statement, thinking she suggested Chicago needed to change what they're doing as they trailed 14-9 at the half. "I don't know, you think so? We're going to be just fine," he responded somewhat aggressively with a bit of a death stare.

Check out the awkward exchange below:

Ben Johnson didn't seem thrilled with his team coming out of halftime. @AKinkhabwala caught up with the Bears head coach. pic.twitter.com/ZQRhZDIQDt

— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) September 28, 2025

He addressed the moment Monday, where he mentioned he didn't hear Kinkhabwala very well and didn't think it was a question, which resulted in a miscommunication.

"In the moment, honestly I didn't think too much of it. I'm kind of in game mode," Johnson said to reporters Monday. "But then when I look back at it, you know I am a little bit disappointed with what that looks like. I didn't hear very well and that's not an excuse, but when I thought I heard not a question but that I needed to make some changes, I didn't take that very well. So, I'll do a better job with those moving forward."

Ben Johnson on his halftime exchange with CBS's Aditi Kinkhabwala pic.twitter.com/rF65KiFkAM

— Dave (@dave_bfr) September 29, 2025

No harm, no foul, but Johnson definitely took some lumps online for his reaction in the moment. With a thrilling 25-24 road win, the Bears advanced to 2-2 on the year and prepare to take on the Commanders next week on Monday Night Football.

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