Ben Johnson leaves no doubt about the challenge awaiting the Bears in Week 2 against Brian Flores and the Vikings
Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson is no stranger to going up against Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores and understands the challenge that’s ahead this week.
Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson has faced off against Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator numerous times throughout their coaching career and both sides have had mixed success going up against each other’s unit.
Since Johnson arrived to Chicago, however, the Bears scored just 43 points in two games against the Vikings. On the flip side, Johnson’s offense looked flawless out of the gate to start his second year in Chicago scoring 59 points in the season opener, but he made sure to set the tone that the Bears haven’t scored any points this week.
Every week has it’s own story and the Bears aren’t planning to ride any momentum from one game into the next. That’s especially important this week as Johnson prepares his offense for another clash against this Flores-led defense.
“Defensively, these guys are a handful each and every week,” Johnson told reporters on Wednesday. “It’s one of those things where a lot of time, effort, and energy goes in your preparation over the course of the week. And then on game day, you really can’t take a play off or it’ll nip you in the butt.”
Brian Flores’ defense has plenty of headaches to account for
Looking closer at Flores’ defense, the staple of his scheme has always been the all-or-nothing approach he has when it comes to blitzing the quarterback.
“It comes from all over the place,” Johnson said of defending the blitz. “He’ll hit you in the A gap, he’ll hit you from outside the tackles. He likes to bring zero more than any other coordinator in this league. In any situation, normal downs, second-and-long, third-downs, redzone, it really doesn’t matter. He keeps you on your toes.”
Last week, Flores blitzed the Green Bay Packers on 87.1 percent of dropbacks, per PFF. The next highest blitz percentage from Sunday’s slate was 50.9 percent by the Washington Commanders, a unit led by one of Flores’ former disciples in Daronte Jones.
While it was a heavy-blitz game plan it Week 1, that doesn’t mean it’ll be the case again this week. Look at the two games last year against the Bears as a clear example. In Week 1, Flores called a blitz on 40.9 percent of dropbacks and then called a blitz on 77.8 percent of dropbacks in Week 11.
“You try to have answers for everything,” Johnson added. “He’s been in this division three years now. You’d like to think he’s put everything they possibly do on tape, until you play him next and you realize he hasn’t yet. There’ll be something new. There always is with him. That’s what makes him such a good coordinator.”
Beyond the scheme, the Vikings have some very talented defenders. Veteran safety Harrison Smith, for example, has been one of Caleb Williams’ toughest on-field opponents over the last two years and will be getting more ramped up this week. Dallas Turner flashed off the edge in Week 1. And Ben Johnson also singled out Jalen Redmond as a player that can be “a force to be reckoned with” on the defensive line.
Game planning for this defense starts with what Flores does on the defensive line from a blitz perspective pre-snap. Then you have to account for players like Smith that can disguise the coverage post-snap. And then the offensive players have to be ball conscious as well because this is an opportunistic group looking to force takeaways.
It is an extremely difficult matchup for this offense and Ben Johnson is making that message clear to the rest of his players this week. And how he plans to call the game against Flores will be just as critical for this unit to repeat the success they had in Week 1.
