Bears HC Ben Johnson has the most fitting reaction to the sideline hit on QB Caleb Williams during Week 12 win over Steelers
He was excited to see his guys fired up.
The Chicago Bears had another offensive explosion in Week 12 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, scoring 31 points in the win, and quarterback Caleb Williams accounted for three passing touchdowns.
Head coach Ben Johnson was back in his groove calling plays, and even though the run game struggled to get going, he was dialing up some nice plays to keep the offense moving.
No play was more impactful from a play-calling standpoint than Johnson’s decision to keep the offense on the field on fourth-and-1 from the 39-yard line in the second quarter. That drive came following the strip-sack touchdown Williams coughed up to the Steelers, and momentum was in jeopardy of swinging the opposite direction in a hurry.
Instead, Johnson dialed up a designed QB run from the shotgun for Williams with running back D’Andre Swift as the lead blocker to pick up the first down.
“They gave us a good look for that one,” Johnson said of the play on Monday. “I thought the O-line did a great job just making sure that they built a wall there to the inside… So it really became a two-on-one with Swifty leading the charge there on the corner. Swifty, key block, and then huge play for us there.”
It wasn’t just the conversion on the designed QB keeper that made that such a momentum-swinging play for the offense; it was also what happened at the end of the play.
Ben Johnson was fired up for the response the team had after the hit on Caleb Williams
At the end of the play, Williams crossed the line to gain and was starting to head toward the sideline. Before stepping out of bounds, Williams was shoved to the ground from behind by Steelers veteran cornerback Jalen Ramsey, a legal play but one the Bears’ sideline didn’t appreciate too much.
It’s a learning moment for Williams specifically, but the response from the sideline, and mainly cornerback C.J. Gardner-Johnson jumping to his quarterback’s defense, is what you want to see from your players as a coach.
“Want to get Caleb out of bounds just a little bit sooner,” Johnson added. “But, you know, the crazy thing is, when things like that happen, it almost ignites your sideline even more. It was a completely legal hit, you know, he was in-bounds. But at the same time, just to see the whole sideline come to life, I think it kind of has another spark there to your offense and really the whole team.”
Chicago went on to cap off that drive with a touchdown pass to rookie tight end Colston Loveland to tie the game back up and keep the game within reach. It’s those little moments that can define a game and also bring a team closer together. It’s something you love to see as a fan.
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Mike Tomlin’s comments on Bears QB Caleb Williams tell the whole truth about his performance whether people believe it or not
He was impressed by how Caleb Williams looked against his defense.
