New Bears head coach Ben Johnson knows how to dig deep into his playbook to dial up success. The former Lions offensive coordinator discussed the famous “Stumblebum” play in detail and why he implemented it against Chicago in 2024.

“They are really well coached, they know what they are doing, and they know what schemes give them issues,” Johnson said of the Bears’ linebackers and safeties in an interview with CHGO. “So, we just needed that extra layer to get them unfocused, ‘bad eyes’ if you will, so that we can get a step on them.”

Johnson credited the play, in which Lions quarterback Jared Goff pretended to stumble, and Detroit running back Jahmyr Gibbs dove on the nonexistent fumble, fooling the Bears defense, allowing Goff to find Sam LaPorta for the 21-yard touchdown in a 34-17 win over Chicago at Soldier Field in late December, on watching game tape of a Packers win over the Bears from September 2023.

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“Seeing it from the year before, ‘Oh okay, this makes sense,’” Johnson said. “You might be able to get them out of position, just for a split second, in order to get the tight end to sneak on through.”

Johnson also noted that he originally wanted Goff to fumble the football and pick it back up, but Goff voiced his discomfort with actually losing the football, “At one point, we tried to get the ball on the ground, and Jared didn’t want to go that far, which I totally understand. Once you talk about it, once you install it, the players really make it their own after that, they were on board.”

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