Ben Johnson Out-Smarted The Packers: The 4th-Down Plan That Won The War
Beating good teams is never easy. That means coaches like Ben Johnson must do everything in their power to find an advantage, no matter how small. The Chicago Bears had already faced the Green Bay Packers twice. Both times went to the wire, requiring big comebacks from the Bears. Johnson knew Green Bay would come out looking to make a statement. He had to find a way to give his team an edge. The solution he came up with was one nobody expected. It involved a high degree of risk.
Johnson basically benched punter Tory Taylor, opting to go for it on 4th down all game. In total, the Bears went for it six times, including in their own territory. Nobody could figure it out. Johnson finally explained his reason to Kalyn Kahler of ESPN.
“The aggressive fourth down mentality had something to do with time of possession and making sure we are maximizing our possessions. It’s a strategy we talk about as a team and the whole team was highly aware of it and had a lot of confidence. Where it gets misconstrued is there’s a lack of confidence in your defense. I think the opposite. I think because I have confidence in our defense and their ability to stop teams in the red zone that it makes you more willing to pull out a strategy like that…I’m never going to apologize for being aggressive or doing things that might be a little unorthodox if it’s what we deem is best for us to win a ballgame.”
The logic starts making sense.
Chicago lost each of their last two games of the regular season to San Francisco and Detroit. In both instances, they lost the time-of-possession battle. In his mind, Johnson felt the Bears’ best chance to win was to somehow steal a possession. You either do that by forcing turnovers or going for it on 4th down.
Ben Johnson made the strategy work.
The Bears only converted on two of the six attempts on Saturday night. However, both instances proved crucial. First came in the 2nd quarter, where a throw to D.J. Moore created a 1st down. That helped the Bears take another three minutes off the clock. That wouldn’t be felt immediately, but it would later. The other was Caleb Williams‘ fateful 4th and 8 scramble and heave to Rome Odunze. That not only helped them keep the ball for another minute, but also scored a touchdown to narrow the gap 27-24.
When Green Bay’s subsequent drive only lasted two minutes, everything Ben Johnson had planned came to fruition. The Packers defense went back onto the field, still tired from the previous drive. Chicago went 66 yards in just six plays, scoring the go-ahead touchdown with 1:48 left. Green Bay failed to answer. The Bears ultimately won the time of possession battle by six minutes, achieving the goal Johnson had set out for. It was daring and maybe a bit reckless, but the method to the madness was clear.