Bears QB Caleb Williams shares favorite part of Ben Johnson’s offense
In just a month’s time, the Chicago Bears will kick off the 2025 season in head coach Ben Johnson’s highly anticipated debut.
That means the Bears are in the dog days of preseason camp as both the offense and defense are putting in rep after rep to master their new coaches’ schemes.
Along with Johnson at the helm, Chicago will have a new look on both sides of the ball with Declan Doyle and Dennis Allen taking the offensive and defensive coordinator roles, respectively.
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Second-year quarterback Caleb Williams will undoubtedly be under everyone’s microscope as he tries to rewrite some of his rookie season’s woes under Matt Eberflus — but he’s already loving what Johnson has up his sleeve.
“(I love) his creativity,” Williams told NFL Network’s Stacey Dales and Brian Baldinger on Tuesday during “Inside Training Camp LIVE.” “Ben goes by these two simple things: smash-mouth football — old rules, smash-mouth football — and then new and innovative football.”
Under Eberflus and offensive coordinator Shane Waldron, Williams often struggled to steer an offense that finished the season last in total yards per game (284.6) and was fifth-worst in points per game (18.2).
Over in Detroit, Johnson was orchestrating a whole other world of an offense as the Lions’ coordinator. His group led the league in points per game (33.2) and racked up 409.5 yards per game (second in NFL).
The “smash-mouth” style Williams mentioned refers to an aggressive, run-heavy offense popularized by collegiate programs like Ohio State in the 1950s and 1960s. Johnson’s Lions did a lot of running — they were a top-six team in rushing yards per game last season (146.4), a stat in which the Bears ranked in the bottom third of the league (102.0).
But Johnson shared the wealth: The Lions’ passing game was second-best in the league, averaging 263.2 yards per game compared to a Bears offense that fared second-worst (181.5) in Williams’ rookie campaign.
Most notably, Johnson became infamous for his creative — and sometimes outlandish — trick plays, whether that was drawing up a target for a lineman or orchestrating fake stumbles for his running back and quarterback.
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Even when he was just getting familiar with the Bears in minicamp, Johnson was already whipping up routes for guys like right tackle Darnell Wright.
More recently, the Bears perfectly executed one of Johnson’s signature misdirection plays between Williams and tight end Cole Kmet in front of thousands of fans at Family Fest practice.
Needless to say, Williams is intrigued — and entertained — by what his head coach will draw up for him in Year 2.
“You marry those two (offensive styles) — I think Ben’s been able to do that for the past years,” Williams said. “It’s been fun to watch.”



