Another Ben Johnson Comment Inspired Another Bears Game-Winning Drive

Part of being a great head coach is knowing what to say to your players and when to say it. Ben Johnson passed the first test two weeks ago. The Chicago Bears trailed the Las Vegas Raiders 24-19 with five minutes left. They needed a touchdown. A field goal wouldn't help. Before the drive began, Johnson took quarterback Caleb Williams aside and told him these were the moments he's built for. Go win the game. Williams went out and executed a near-flawless 11-play march to the end zone.

Fast forward to the 4th quarter on Monday night in Washington. The scenario was almost identical. Chicago had the ball trailing 24-22 with just minutes remaining. They had around 40 yards to go to reach field goal range. Again, Johnson pulled Williams aside. However, this time his words were different. He revealed after the game that he had instructed the quarterback to tell the offensive line that he planned to lean on them this time, meaning the Bears would be running the ball.

Of the eight plays on the drive, six were indeed runs. Two of them featured two of the best-blocked plays of the entire season. One led to a crucial 1st down. The other got them well within Jake Moody's field goal range.

Ben Johnson continues to show a great sense of the moment.

It would've been easy for him to repeat what he'd done in Las Vegas. Let Williams throw the Bears to victory. However, the game situation didn't support that idea. The quarterback hadn't been overly sharp all night, partly due to the weather conditions. However, the guiding factor was having watched how well the offensive line had blocked in the run game all night. Washington hadn't stopped D'Andre Swift the entire game. Why get cute? Ben Johnson decided to let his offensive line know they were the reason the team was in a position to win.

Finish what you started.

They did exactly that. Washington had every opportunity to slam the door shut, but the Bears overpowered them. It was the kind of physical statement this team hasn't made in years. All of it was set up by the head coach. If you weren't sure if Johnson had his finger on the pulse of this team, there are no more doubts now.