Ben Johnson’s killer instinct is in full swing and it easily means trouble for the rest of the NFL
The Chicago Bears refused to let off the gas against the Carolina Panthers in Week 1, and Ben Johnson’s response to that shows what kind of killer instinct he actually has on the sidelines.
The Chicago Bears absolutely handed it to the Carolina Panthers’ defense in Week 1 to kick off the regular season, but in all honesty, that game was way closer than it should have been until midway through the third quarter.
Ben Johnson’s offense looked absolutely unstoppable in that game, but on the other side of the ball, Bryce Young and the Panthers’ offense never stopped swinging haymakers of their own to keep the game competitive.
I mean, this game was tied 31-31 in the third quarter and it seemed like we were just waiting to see which team was going to make the critical mistake to give the other team a chance to run away with it. Then came three consecutive touchdowns by the Bears to make it 52-31, giving Chicago a three-possession lead.
And for extra measures, the Bears ripped off another 28-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter to really put a stamp on the win after the Panthers attempted to show some last minute life. Jeff Joniak joked with Ben Johnson on Monday that he thought the Bears would go for two after that last touchdown to reach 60 points out of spite, and Johnson said Joniak wasn’t alone in that idea.
Ben Johnson’s desire to stay on the gas was a form of respect and a statement at the same time
Last season, the Bears had way too many close games, many of which came from allowing teams to come back and take the lead late. Ben Johnson wanted to fix that this season and be more ruthless as an entire team, not just on offense.
This is a guy that wants blowouts, he wants to dominate opponents on the scoreboard. To do that, you need a killer instinct late in games to put teams down for the count. And that’s exactly what the Bears did on Sunday.
“We needed it, the game was still back and forth at that point. Anytime you’re still within a couple scores in the fourth quarter, the game is still on,” Johnson said. “I forget what time it was when we took the field for that last drive, but it was, ‘Guys, we want to finish the game with the ball.’ We ended up getting to pop one through and Swifty scored there at the end. I thought they did a really good job in the fourth quarter pressing on the gas. We went into the game with a lot of respect for how well Carolina could play in the fourth quarter. We knew we couldn’t let off the gas.”
Similar to Chicago, Carolina had multiple come-from-behind wins last season despite all hope seeming lost. Ben Johnson respected that about the Panthers, but wasn’t going to let that happen. Johnson wasn’t calling that game to not lose and just drain the clock once his team got the lead, like other coaches would. He was calling that game to keep stacking points. He wanted to send a message loud enough for everyone to hear.
This is who the Bears are now. Everyone said the fluky late-game wins the Bears had last season won’t be repeated in 2026 and Johnson agrees. The story now on the Chicago Bears is that this is a team that will not let off the gas and will not have mercy.
Johnson is out for blood in 2026 and his entire team is rallying around that mentality. That mentality will intimidate teams that simply can’t keep up.
