Caleb Williams is fine, it's the run game holding back Ben Johnson's offense

While the arrow is pointing up four games into Ben Johnson’s first season with the Bears, replicating his success on offense with the Lions already seems a little more difficult than Johnson might have anticipated. 

And Caleb Williams isn’t the drag on progress. The former No. 1 overall draft pick still has a long way to go, but has made reasonable if not impressive growth under Johnson. When Johnson became the offensive coordinator of the Lions in 2022, he inherited Jared Goff, a six-year veteran with Super Bowl credentials. Williams, in his second NFL season, is a bigger project but with the potential for a bigger payoff. That’s the plan, anyway. 

If there’s been a crimp in Johnson’s grand plan so far, it’s the running game. In Detroit, Johnson fast-tracked the Lions’ offensive renaissance on the ground. After four games in 2022, Lions running backs — mostly D’Andre Swift and Jamaal Williams — were averaging 142.3 yards per game and 5.6 yards per carry, with seven touchdowns. In four games in 2025, Bears running backs — mostly Swift and seventh-round rookie Kyle Monangai — are averaging 62.3 yards per game and 3.4 yards per carry with one touchdown. 

That’s been a disappointment considering the Bears’ concerted effort to improve their offensive line by trading for All-Pro guard Joe Thuney and former Pro Bowl guard Jonah Jackson, signing center Drew Dalman in free agency and acquiring tackle Ozzy Trapilo in the second round of the draft.

The offensive line appears to be an upgrade so far, but mostly because the bar was set so low. Swift has struggled, averaging 46.8 yards per game and a career-low 3.3 yards per carry. Monangai has played a bit role — 17 carries for 62 yards and 3.6 yards per carry. And third-year running back Roschon Johnson, whom the Bears loved like a son when he was drafted in the fourth round in 2023, suddenly is a forgotten man. He has yet to play one snap on offense this season. 

And Johnson clearly put the onus on those responsible for creating the holes — blockers and coaches, including himself.

“It’s hard to evaluate any or our running backs right now, when you turn on the tape and there’s some free runners in the hole where the play was supposed to go,” Johnson said. “I take it personally, because I actually spend more time on the run game than I do on the passing game.” 

So when the Bears play the Commanders on Monday night at Northwest Stadium, establishing the running game might be a bigger priority than Williams’ progress under center. His success almost certainly depends on it. Williams’ only real success against the Raiders in Week 4 came in a desperate fourth-quarter drive when the running game played only a supporting role. Williams, in fact, was the leading rusher on that winning drive — 18 yards on two carries. Swift had 13 yards on four carries, including the two-yard touchdown. But Williams set that up instead of the other way around. 

But as is the case with Williams, it’s a work in progress that could take awhile. 

“We’re just not reacting fast enough right now,” Johnson said. “We’ve got to learn from everything we put on tape as an entire unit, so that those combinations can be a lot cleaner … so we give our runners a chance, because we have some dynamic players — whether it’s our running backs or our receivers — that if we can give them a chance to get a little bit of green grass, they take advantage of it."

When Johnson became the offensive coordinator with the Lions in 2022, he had an immediate impact. The Lions improved from 25th in scoring in 2021 to fifth. They improved from 19th in rushing yards to 11th and from 24th in rushing touchdowns (12) to third (23). He's had a similar impact so far with the Bears in points scored — from 28th last year (18.2 per game) to 10th (25.3) through the first four games. But the run game improvement has been negligible — from 25th last season (102.0 yards per game) to 24th through four games in 2025 (102.3 yards per game).

That figures to take some time. Even with an improved running game with the Lions in 2022, the Lions still revamped their backfield — trading Swift and drafting Jahmyr Gibbs with the 10th overall pick in the 2023 draft; and signing former Bears running back David Montgomery over Williams. Already in 2025, the Bears seem headed toward a similar backfield reconstruction for 2026.

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