1st-and-10: A litmus test for Ben Johnson vs. Matt Eberflus

The last time Ben Johnson faced Matt Eberflus, when the Lions played the Bears on Thanksgiving Day last season at Ford Field, Johnson's offense came in averaging 35.5 points in the Lions' previous eight games — including 52, 45 and 42 in their last three home games — but scored just 23 against Eberflus, 10 below their league-leading average.

Even Johnson's cute play didn't fool Eberflus' defense — offensive tackle Penei Sewell, looking to pass on an end around, was sacked by Austin Booker and Jack Sanborn. And as the game ensued, it was Eberflus' defense that was gaining the edge. The Lions scored one touchdown in their final seven possessions, giving Eberflus' upstart Bears a chance to win the game in the final minute.

In typical Bears fashion, one of their most impressive performances of the season turned into one of the lowest moments in franchise history. Eberflus botched the chance to win the game with a brain cramp in the final minute, the Bears lost their sixth consecutive game, and Eberflus was fired the next day — the first time in the Bears' 105-year history they fired a coach during the season.

Johnson and Eberflus meet again on Sunday at Soldier Field — Johnson the head coach of the Bears; Eberflus the defensive coordinator of the Lions. And while the game was noteworthy from the day the NFL released the 2025 schedule in May, the stakes are much higher than anyone likely thought.

After back-to-back disappointing performances in losses to the Vikings in Week 1 (27-24 after leading 17-6) and 52-21 to the Lions on Sunday that have looked way too much like a continuation of the Eberflus regime than the dawn of a new era, Ben Johnson needs this one. And credit to the football gods for setting up an enticing scenario: Johnson's struggling offense vs. Eberflus' struggling defense.

After the opening two losses against 2024 playoff teams, the Bears' game against the Cowboys on Sunday is an early litmus test — if the first two games were just the Bears and Johnson adjusting to each other and not defining, this is the game to prove the Bears are moving forward. And Johnson facing an Eberflus defense — without Micah Parsons — that just allowed 37 points to a Giants offense that scored six in its opener against the Commanders should be a favorable situation for the Bears.

Bears fans don't miss Eberflus, who was 14-32 in two-plus seasons as head coach. But it's mostly forgotten (for good reason) that his defense was fourth in the NFL in points allowed (17.0 ppg) before the wheels game off following the Fail Mary against the Commanders. The Bears allowed 20 points per game in Eberflus' 12 games as head coach last season. Since he was fired, they've allowed 29.9 points per game, including two under Dennis Allen this season.

Allen's defense, in fact, has allowed 27 points against the Vikings, who scored six on Sunday against the Falcons. And they allowed 52 points to the Lions, who scored 13 in their opener against the Packers. So the Bears under Allen have allowed 79 points to two teams that have scored 19 in their other game. Allen has his own battle against Brian Schottenheimer this week. But it's definitely not the marquee matchup in this one.

2. Are the Bears' ready to win a shootout? They haven't won a game in which they've allowed 23 or more points since 2021, when back-up quarterback Nick Foles rallied them to a 25-24 victory over the Seahawks in Seattle. They're 0-25 since then. In the same span, the Lions were 13-13 when allowing 23 or more points with Johnson as their offensive coordinator — one of only four NFL teams that did not have a losing record in that scenario.

But for the record, the Lions were 3-8 when allowing 23 or more points in 2022. Their ability to win shootouts didn't kick in until the second and third seasons of Johnson's offense, when the Lions were a league-leading 10-5.

3. What is the Bears' end game with rookie offensive tackle Ozzy Trapilo? The second-round draft pick was a healthy inactive in Week 2 after playing special teams in the opener. Of the 13 offensive linemen taken in the first two rounds of the draft, Trapilo is the only one who has not started in the first two weeks of the season.

Not only that, but he's currently the back-up at right tackle to Darnell Wright, who figures to be there for the next 10 years or so. There's no way the Bears used the No. 56 pick in the draft on a back-up right tackle. So will Trapilo learn to play the left side by playing the right side? Or will Wright eventually be moved to left tackle, allowing Trapilo to play what is clearly his best position? A fair question that needs to be asked.

3a. Speaking of Trapilo, it was not a great week for general manager Ryan Poles. Rookie defensive tackle Shemar Turner and offensive linemen Kiran Amegadjie, a 2024 third-round pick, also were healthy inactives against the Lions.

The Bears' 2025 draft class as a whole has been underwhelming in the early going. Tight end Colston Loveland, the No. 10 overall pick in the draft, has two receptions for 12 yards. Wide receiver Luther Burden, a second-round pick (No. 39), has two receptions for two yards. And with the upgraded interior offensive line, Caleb Williams was stopped on back-to-back quarterback sneaks — third-and-one and fourth-and-one — against the Lions.

4. It's early, of course. And plenty of time for the Bears' offense to develop under Johnson. But there was an expectation of at least a few more positive indicators in the early going than Bears fans have seen with Johnson at the controls. His celebrated attention to detail was expected to command a new focus and improved discipline. Yet the Bears have been called for 23 penalties (for 177 yards) in the first two games — tied for the fourth most in the NFL (third in penalty yardage).

Their six false starts are the most in the NFL through two weeks. In fact, the Bears penalty differential (their penalty yardage minus their opponents) is minus-99 — the second highest in the NFL behind the 0-2 Titans (minus-119).

That sets up an interesting battle vs. the Cowboys, who have the best penalty yardage differential in the NFL through two weeks (plus-122). Their opponents have committed 23 penalties for 270 yards in two games.

5. The Bears are saying Jaylon Johnson's injury against the Lions is not an aggravation of the groin injury that kept him out of the preseason and training camp. But that doesn't stop speculation that the Bears brought him back too soon. Even Johnson acknowledged the "new" injury was related to the groin injury in his weekly paid appearance on 670 The Score.

It's typical of the Bears' luck. An offseason injury that keeps a player out of the entirety of training camp and the preseason is pretty rare in itself. Details of that injury have been scarce. But going from a very brief "ramp-up" to regular-season game action is risky.

When rookie linebacker Roquan Smith missed virtually all of training camp and the preseason in 2018 with a contract hold-out and then a minor hamstring, defensive coordinator Vic Fangio and coach Matt Nagy eased him in — playing Smith just eight snaps in the season opener against the Packers (and at a cost, as the Bears' defense fell apart in the second half in a 24-23 loss).

"We go back to training camp and you talk about where he was at and he had that little deal with his hammy," Nagy said at the time, "and we wanted to be kind of cautious with it and be smart."

The Bears weren't so careful with Johnson. He played the first 20 defensive snaps against the Lions before suffering the injury while diving for a nifty break-up of a pass to Amon-Ra St. Brown in the second quarter.

6. The Ben Johnson Effect: With Williams' 28-yard touchdown pass to Rome Odunze against the Lions, the Bears have scored a touchdown on their opening drive in back-to-back games for the first time since Weeks 16-17 of the 2022 season (Justin Fields' six-yard pass to Dante Pettis in a 35-13 loss to the Bills; Fields' 13-yard pass to Cole Kmet in a 41-10 loss to the Lions). They were 0-for-17 on their opening drive last season — with 13 punts and just two field goals on the opening drive in 17 games.

Now the problem is what happens after the first drive. The Bears are averaging 21.1 yards per drive after the opening drive — 31st in the NFL, ahead of only the woeful Titans (13.2). They have scored three touchdowns in 22 offensive drives (13.6%, 28th in the NFL).

Last year they were 26th in the NFL in average yards per drive after the opening drive (27.4). They scored 33 touchdowns in 164 drives (20.1%, 20th in the NFL).

7. For What It's Worth Dept.: Caleb Williams has completed 18-of-20 passes (90%) in the first quarter and 22-of-45 passes (48.9%) in the final three quarters through the first two games. Overall, Williams has completed 40-of-65 passes (61.5%).

His yards per attempt (6.4, 20th in the NFL among quarterbacks who have started two games) is slightly better than his rookie season (6.3, 28th).

The Cowboys could present an opportunity for Williams to improve his completion percentage. Opposing quarterbacks are completing 76.6% of their passes against the Cowboys' defense — the second-highest in the NFL through two weeks behind the Dolphins (78.9%). Previously, the Eagles' Jalen Hurts completed 19-of-23 passes and the Giants' Russell Wilson completed 30-of-41 passes against the Cowboys.

8. Dennis Allen's weekly press conference could be a hoot this week. The veteran coordinator bristled at questions about the Vikings game last Thursday, taking a weird "we're on to Detroit" stance with reporters — even though, as he acknowledged, he had yet to address the Vikings game. It was a bad look to begin with, and Allen looked even worse on Sunday — with all that focus on the Lions, his defense crapped out in embarrassing fashion.

The 52 points allowed were the most by a Bears team since a 55-14 loss to the Packers at Lambeau Field in 2014 under Marc Trestman and defensive coordinator Mel Tucker. Sunday's debacle was the sixth time in the last 60 years the Bears have allowed 50 or more points.

It's easy to see why Allen was 26-53 with no playoff appearances in six years as a head coach with the Raiders (2012-14) and Saints (2022-24). If addressing the previous game while preparing for the next one is that difficult, you're probably going to struggle with the multitude of responsibilities of being a head coach.

9. Josh McCown Ex-Bears Player of the Week: Ravens linebacker Roquan Smith returned an interception 63 yards for a touchdown to spark a 41-17 rout of the Browns at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore. Smith, a first-team All-Pro in each of his three seasons with the Ravens (including eight games with the Bears in 2022), had 15 tackles, three tackles-for-loss and two quarterback hits against the Browns.

10. Bear-ometer — 8-9: vs. Cowboys (W); at Raiders (W); at Commanders (L); vs. Saints (W); at Ravens (L); at Bengals (W); vs. Giants (W); at Vikings (L); vs. Steelers (W); at Eagles (L); at Packers (L); vs. Browns (W); vs. Packers (L); at 49ers (L); vs. Lions (W).

---