The Chicago Bears have taken on the personality of head coach Ben Johnson in little more than one year at the helm, but the schematic guru isn’t running his offense like a dictatorship during his second preseason.
Johnson proved as much by handing over play-calling duties to one of his top assistants during the final two quarters of Chicago’s preseason opener against the Cleveland Browns on Saturday, August 15.
“Bears assistant head coach/wide receivers coach Antwaan Randle El called plays in the second half,” Courtney Cronin of ESPN reported. “Ben Johnson said he might hand off play-calling duties to some other coaches over the Bears’ next two preseason games. Randle El was in the quarterback meeting last night talking through the call sheet, QBs favorite plays.”
Johnson explained the decision during the postgame press conference.
“It was a phenomenal experience for him, and I know our guys really rallied around that as well,” he said, per Cronin.
Tyson Bagent Took Lead in Bears’ Preseason Opener, Caleb Williams Did Not Play
GettyChicago Bears quarterback Tyson Bagent.
Obviously, when the regular season comes around it will be Johnson calling in the plays to starting quarterback Caleb Williams. And while Johnson only called plays during the first half on Saturday, Williams didn’t play at all.
Instead, Tyson Bagent led the way by completing 13-of-22 passes for 169 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Case Keenum was 9-of-10 for 151 yards and two scores, while Miller Moss connected on 3-of-8 attempts for 48 yards. Chicago won the game by a score of 34-10.
“If I’m the backup this year again, I just want to help us win a Super Bowl. Whatever the hell that looks like,” Bagent said to Dan Wiederer of The Athletic ahead of training camp. “If I just need to execute my ass off on scout team, whatever … I’m willing. I’m just in a position where I’m so willing to play whatever role I need to in order to help the squad and to get better at football.”
Caleb Williams Has Taken Huge Step in Ben Johnson’s Offense Heading Into Second Season Together
GettyChicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams.
Williams will undoubtedly get some action at some point during the preseason.
However, reports coming out of Bears training camp indicate that the quarterback is far more comfortable in Johnson’s offense than he was at this same time last year when the head coach threw his then second-year QB into the deep end to see if he would sink or swim — all of which may mean Williams doesn’t need as much preseason game work as he did last summer.
“Last training camp was horrendous. Like it was a hard watch every single day. … It was very clear that Caleb Williams didn’t really know what he was calling. He wasn’t even really relaying things correctly,” said Carmen Vitali of FOX Sports during an appearance on “The Mina Kimes Show featuring Lenny” last week. “Flash forward to this year — it is night and day. … The decisiveness of Caleb Williams is palpable.”
Ben Johnson Turns Heads With Unheralded Decision in Bears’ Preseason Opener