Maybe the Chicago Bears didn’t need to spend the No. 1 overall pick in 2024 on quarterback Caleb Williams after all. That’s probably a bit drastic, but considering how well the team has played without him since he went down with a hamstring injury in Week 2, perhaps credit is due elsewhere.
Head coach Ben Johnson was hired because he’s been labeled an offensive savant. He’s proven that with not only 38-year-old Case Keenum but also with 2023 undrafted free agent Tyson Bagent under center.
The Bears outscored the Philadelphia Eagles and New York Jets by a combined score of 50-19, racking up 867 total yards of offense. Chicago leads the league after four weeks averaging 429 yards per game. Yet it’s a different set of metrics that has Johnson’s system entering historic territory.
Ben Johnson’s Bears offense is dominating possession in historic fashion
On Sunday, Chicago ran 89 offensive plays compared to New York’s 32. That’s a 57-play gap, and according to NFL Reddit sleuth u/batmansascientician’s digging on Sports Reference, that’s the third biggest disparity in a single game since the 1970 league merger. Only the 1999 Pittsburgh Steelers (62-play difference vs. Cleveland Browns) and the 1979 Los Angeles Rams (60-play difference vs. Seattle Seahawks) ran up bigger gaps.
Sunday’s 23-12 victory looked a lot tighter than it actually was. Most folks expect a dominant victory to be one team blowing out another, but if you take a closer look at stats other than yards and scoring, the Bears had the Jets by the neck and didn’t let go.
Chicago held on to the football for 42 minutes and 45 seconds of the 60-minute regulation period. New York barely had time for two proper scoring drives in each half. The Bears also had 34 first downs compared to the Jets’ seven. You can’t lose a game if you simply just don’t let the other team touch the ball for most of a quarter.
The Bears offense is making life easy for Chicago’s defense
“[It was] one of the easiest NFL games I ever played in,” Bears linebacker Devin Bush told reporters postgame on Sunday. ” I’m not sore at all. I got bored at times.”
That’s probably one of the most arrogant things said by a player this year, but it’s entirely backed up by more than just the scoreboard. Bush missed only one snap on defense on Sunday and needed to make just two solo tackles (four total) on top of recording his first sack of the season. It’s the one time a stat line that bare is entirely acceptable.
The Bears will next face their rivals in the Green Bay Packers in Week 5 which could prove to be a feast or famine matchup. The Minnesota Vikings’ dominant defense corraled Johnson’s prolific offense to just three points in Week 2 so if the Packers watched any of that tape with the playmakers they have like Micah Parsons, things could get interesting.
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