Ben Johnson’s message landed with the Bears, and his young offensive core looked especially promising in the Week 3 win over Dallas
That’s the game we’ve expected to see all along.
When Ben Johnson arrived in Chicago, he had a clear standard in mind for how he wanted the Chicago Bears to look. He wanted to field a team that would dominate its opponents.
In the first two games of the 2025 season, the Bears failed to live up to that high standard, and it wasn’t something Johnson was going to put up with. He knew his players could reach that bar and made sure to reinforce his expectations to the locker room going into Week 3.
And man, did the Bears respond in an encouraging way against the Dallas Cowboys.
Bears got the statement win they needed against the Cowboys
From start to finish, the Bears had the foot on the gas against the Cowboys on Sunday. Offensively, the Bears were explosive and efficient, posting a 31-point outing. Defensively, the unit rebounded in a major way, holding Dallas to just 14 points.
It’s exactly the kind of football Johnson wanted to see out of this team, and the play of the young offensive core, specifically, was promising for the weeks ahead.
Let’s start with quarterback Caleb Williams, who was lights out throwing the football. Williams made some big-time throws in this game, all over the field, finishing with 298 passing yards and four touchdowns. Most importantly, Williams, for the most part, was hitting the easy completions with a few throws he still would like to have back. Yet, it was still one of his best games as the Bears’ starter.
Once again, Rome Odunze was Williams’ go-to receiver with seven targets, but the two only connected for three receptions. The first on the second drive of the game went for a 35-yard TD. Rookie Luther Burden III made some splash grabs as well, including a 65-yard TD that came off a little trickery on a flea flicker.
Veteran weapons D.J. Moore and Cole Kmet each found the end zone, and rookie tight end Colston Loveland had an early 31-yard catch before leaving due to injury. This offense seemed to finally be hitting on all cylinders and largely avoided the costly mistakes it had been making during the first two games of the season.
Was it perfect? No. But it was encouraging and promising, which is a step in the right direction considering how this team played the previous two weeks. And while the players will enjoy a get-right win like this playing against their former head coach on the opposite sidelines, it’s clear Johnson is still laser-focused on how the team can continue improving even more.
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He’s able to do it all.
