‘They’re full of BS’ — Ben Johnson keeps saying the quiet part out loud about NFL offenses and isn’t apologizing for Bears’ ambitions
Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson had ambitious goals coming into the season for his 2026 offense. In reality, he just said out loud what every other offensive play-caller is thinking.
Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson had ambitious goals going into his second season with the team and the heights the Bears, and more specifically the offense, could set out to achieve during the 2026 season.
“You’ve got 31 other teams coming to training camp saying, ‘Our goal is to win the Super Bowl,’” Johnson said, via Dan Pompei of The Athletic. “I want more than that. I want to have the highest-scoring offense ever, which happens to be the 2013 Denver Broncos. I know how many points per game they scored (37.9), and I want to surpass them. I want shutouts. I want blowouts.”
That quote alone sparked some chatter. People felt that Johnson was being too cocky and setting expectations way too high for his team. Which is hilarious to even say. There’s no such thing as setting expectations too high. Even still, many believed those comments would put another target on the back of the Chicago Bears and give people something to watch and ridicule at if the Bears fail to reach that historically high bar.
Johnson doesn’t view it that way. In his mind, he just said out loud what other offensive play-callers are too hesitant to publicly put out there.
“Absolutely not. If there’s any other offensive play caller in the league that doesn’t feel that way, then they’re full of BS. I’m just the one that’s okay to say it out loud, I guess,” Johnson said. “Behind closed doors, I’m sure they’re saying to their units as well.”
Ben Johnson is 100 percent right, and saying it out loud gave his team even more confidence
Believing that you can break the scoring record is one thing, saying it to the team is another, saying to the entire world is a bold play. And yet, Johnson did it anyways. Not to spark social media hype or to give fuel for the doubters. I don’t even think he did it to inspire confidence in his team. I think he just genuinely believes it’s an attainable goal and something he sets out to achieve every season.
“I’ve had that mindset ever since I started calling plays,” Johnson added. “Our guys know that, and they rally behind that as well. They know every time they hit the grass, we’re supposed to score points. If we’re falling short of that, we gotta make corrections and go out there and do it the next time. It’s a mindset and it’s not one we’re ever going to apologize for.”
In Johnson’s first season as an offensive play-caller, the Detroit Lions averaged 26.6 points per game. The following season, that rate increased to 27.1 points per game, and 33.2 points per game the season after that. During his first season in Chicago, the Bears averaged 25.9 points per game. It was clear he saw more potential out of his group in Chicago and setting that high bar gave the players something to shoot for.
Through the first nine games, the Bears are averaging 26.8 points per game, which includes three games with a backup quarterback. With Caleb Williams, the Bears are averaging 30.7 points per game, which includes the 3-point outing against the Minnesota Vikings in terrible weather conditions that produced a combined 12 points.
Coming out of the bye week, the Bears have a lot of work to do if they want to actually challenge the 2013 Denver Broncos’ record. But, it was never about rewriting history, it was about setting the right tone for this offense, and saying the quiet part out loud. Something 31 other play-callers weren’t willing to do.
