1st-and-10: WTF? Ben Johnson brings change to Halas Hall

“Fuck the Packers”? There’s a new culture indeed at Halas Hall. 

Bears chairman George McCaskey’s aversion to swearing is so strong that when “Hard Knocks” came to Halas Hall last preseason, the editors excluded any foul language from every segment. 

It diluted the impact of the show and absolutely contradicted the “reality” aspect of “Hard Knocks” that made it what it is. But no matter. Respect for the McCaskeys trumped the reality foundation of the show’s format. 

That’s how strong the McCaskey way of life — decent, respectful and proper — is at Halas Hall. Last year, quarterback Caleb Williams apologized for saying the word “stupid” when defending his offensive line that was under fire for his league-leading 68 sacks. Even I — a non-Bears employee — was literally called on the carpet by George for dropping an “F-bomb” in the midway adjacent to the media room at Halas Hall, and asked to apologize. 

(The backstory on that: In a fit of frustration when team president Kevin Warren said he wanted to “making things easier” for reporters as he got in position for his interview at the end-of-season press conference last January — after moving the interview from the more accessible podium in the media room to the less accessible corner of the midway — I went to a Bears media relations staffer a few steps from the media scrum and said in a hushed tone, “This is fucking bullshit.” Because if Kevin really wanted to make it easier for us, he would have done his interview in the media room. 

George found out about it and at the press conference two weeks later to announce Ben Johnson as head coach, I was called into a room at Halas Hall where George expressed his disappointment and asked that I apologize to the media relations staffer. I did, but more out of respect for George than any feeling of guilt. It just wasn’t a big deal to me. Dropping an F-bomb, especially in that context, is just part of being in a competitive environment. To most people, that’s life.) 

Fast forward nearly a full year and there’s Johnson — in a video from the Bears’ own Twitter account — excitedly dropping multiple F-bombs in the glorious celebration of the Bears’ thrilling 31-27 come-from-behind wild-card playoff victory over the Packers: “Fuck the Packers. Fuck them,” Johnson yelled at the peak of his post-game speech to the team, with players in a frenzy and Warren and general manager Ryan Poles applauding in the background. (And a tacit endorsement from George McCaskey. "I just don't like that team," Johnson said when asked about McCaskey's response to his "Fuck the Packers" moment. "George and I have talked, and we're on the same page.")

What a moment, one that deserved to go viral on social media as it did — and a snapshot of one reason why the Bears’ fortunes have turned so extremely: The McCaskeys hired a coach who is not like them. Despite his credentials, Ben Johnson faced a challenge that was bigger than he knew, at a place where dysfunction has consumed many an authority figure: He had to change Halas Hall before it changed him.

A year into his tenure, Johnson is meeting that challenge. The Bears have changed their fortunes by going outside their comfort zone. They broke the bank to pay Johnson $12 million a year. And in doing so, hired a coach who does things his own way — and his players follow his lead. A year ago, Williams was apologizing for saying “stupid.” On Saturday, he said of the second-half mindset: “Go win the f-ing game.” Ben Johnson has brought a new culture to Halas Hall. It’s called football. 

2. Bears fans are reveling in Johnson’s feud with Matt LaFleur that has stoked the rivalry with the Packers to a new level of discord But let’s face it — Bears fans would despise Johnson if he were coaching any other NFC North team. 

His feud is mostly manufactured — all of it stemming from his comment at his introductory press conference that, “Frankly, I kind of enjoyed beating Matt LaFleur twice a year.” The frosty handshakes, the game-week chatter and pre-game and in-game dust-ups and cheap shots all stem from Johnson’s initial comment. 

It’s been productive, no doubt about it. It’s made Johnson the most reviled Bears head coach since Mike Ditka, whose combative, abrasive manner paid dividends until they didn’t. As Johnson’s brash style continues to drive the Bears toward greater heights and create both memories and enemies, he should probably add one tack to that playbook — finesse. 

3. Bears fans surely had a lump in their throat watching Jordan Love scramble around on the Packers' final play like Jayden Daniels did on the fateful Hail Mary last season. But nobody was probably more on edge in that moment than Bears defensive coordinator Dennis Allen, who was victimized by the "Minneapolis Miracle" in 2018 when the Vikings' Case Keenum — now the Bears' third-string quarterback — threw a 61-yard touchdown pass to Stefon Diggs on the final play to give the Vikings a 29-24 victory over the Saints at U.S. Bank Stadium.

Just as Johnson used the Patriots rally from a 28-3 deficit to win Super Bowl LI in 2018 as motivation for his players to never let go of belief, the "Minneapolis Miracle" — in which safety Marcus Williams improbably whiffed on a tackle of Diggs — is a reminder of the importance of being sound fundamentally, especially in the most critical moments of a playoff game. Allen moves on quickly and doesn't seem like the type to drudge up bad memories, but perhaps for a teaching moment, he took a page from Johnson's book to help emphasize the importance of keeping focus through chaos in the postseason. All it takes is one play.

3a. Allen's defense redeemed itself after a shaky start against the Packers that had Johnson in early panic mode — going for a fourth-and-five at the Bears 32-yard line with 5:19 left in the second quarter and the Bears trailing 14-3. The defense forced four consecutive punts to start the second half, eventually giving the offense a chance to outscore the Packers.

But the pressure is still on the defense against the Rams, especially with linebacker T.J. Edwards out for the season after suffering a fractured fibula against the Packers. The Rams led the NFL in scoring this season with 30.5 points per game — and have averaged 36.3 points in their last six games after beating the Panthers 34-31 in the wild-card round.

Allen's defenses have now allowed 26 or more points in six of eight playoff games — including a 26-23 overtime loss to Sean McVay and the Rams in the NFC Championship Game in 2019 at the Superdome.

4. Where does the victory over the Packers rank among the best games in modern (Super Bowl era) Bears history? Winning Super Bowl XX is obviously No. 1. 

But when you factor in the opponent, the stakes and the improbability, the wild-card victory over the Packers ranks ahead of NFC Championship Game victories over the Rams in 1986 and Saints in 2007. The Richter scale at Soldier Field confirmed it. 

5. It was lost in the excitement of the frantic finish that clinched the game for the Bears, but add Jordan Love’s bobbled shotgun snap on the final play to the list of unlikely events that have helped pave the Bears path toward a glorious season. 

With seven seconds left and the ball at the Bears’ 28-yard line, the Packers hoped to get two plays but only got one. 

“I think [Love] was going to spit the ball out to Romeo [Doubs] to get five, seven yards to get a little bit closer,” LaFleur said. “When he dropped the ball, the it becomes the final play fo the game. And from there out, it’s just chaos.” 

6. Even failure leads to success when you’re on a roll like the Bear are. 

When rookie Ozzy Trapilo failed to win the starting left tackle job in training camp, it eventually led to Theo Benedet starting seven games in place of veteran Braxton Jones. Now, with Trapilo out for the season with a ruptured patellar tendon, Benedet will be playing with significant experience instead of coming in cold. 

It might help the Bears boost a run game that has lagged in the last two games — 18 carries for 65 yards against the Lions in Week 18; 28 carries for 93 yards against the Packers on Saturday night. In Benedet’s seven starts, the Bears averaged a league-best 161.6 rushing yards (5.1 yards per carry with 10 touchdowns.)

7a. The Ben Johnson Effect: The Bears are 5-0 with an average of 25.0 points per game when Williams has a quarterback rating of less than 75.0 this season after Williams’ 71.6 rating against the Packers. Last year, the Bears were 1-6 with 8.8 offensive points per game when Williams had a passer rating below 75.0. 

The rest of the NFL is 27-117 (.188) with a passer rating of less than 75.0 this season. The rest of the playoff field is 15-31 (.326), with the Broncos and Bo Nix (3-0) the only other team without a loss. 

7b. What makes that such a significant statistic is that the Bears aren’t just surviving Williams’ subpar game, he’s making a difference. Williams had 41.7 passer rating (no touchdowns, two interceptions) against the Packers after three quarters, but a 110.0 rating (two touchdowns, no interceptions) in the fourth quarter to get to 71.6.

The Bears defense stifling Love played a role in that fourth-quarter success. That could be tougher against the Rams on Sunday. Matthew Stafford leads the NFL with a 124.4 passer rating in the fourth quarter (16 touchdowns, one interception). Williams is eighth at 97.1 (10 touchdowns, two interceptions). 

8. Quick Hits: The Bears are 10-2 when Williams completes less than 60% of his passes this season. The Lions were 3-5 when Jared Goff completed less than 60% of his passes in three seasons in Johnson’s offense. … The home team is now 10-0 in playoff games against divisional opponents since 2021 after the Bears beat the Packers. ... The Bears outscored the Packers 62-23 in the fourth quarter this season, including 25-6 on Saturday night. … The Bears were 2-10 when allowing 23 or more points in the playoffs, but are 1-0 under Johnson. … Colston Loveland’s 137 receiving yards on eight receptions are the second most receiving yards by a rookie tight end in the playoffs in NFL history, behind the Eagles’ Keith Jackson, who had seven receptions for 142 yards against the Bears in the Fog Bowl in 1988 at Soldier Field, a 20-12 Bears victory. 

9. Josh McCown Ex-Bears Player of the Week: Rams center Shelton Coleman played all 76 snaps as the Rams had 411 yards of total offense in a 34-31 victory over the Panthers. Coleman has started 62 consecutive games and played 98.5% of his team’s snaps in the last four seasons. He started all 17 games for the Bears last season, playing 1,122 of 1,136 snaps. 

10. Bear-ometer — 12-7: vs. Rams (L).

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