When Ben Johnson called plays for the Lions the last three seasons, Detroit consistently ranked as one of the best offensive units in the NFL.
Last season, the Lions finished with 46 touchdown drives of 70 yards or more, the most in the NFL. The Chicago Bears, on the other hand, ended with just 17, tied for the fewest in the league with the Houston Texans.
70+ yard TD drives last year:
46 - DET
45
44 - BAL
43
42
41
40
39
38 - TB
37
36
35
34 - BUF
33
32 - WAS, PHI
31 - CIN
30 - IND, ARI, NYJ
29
28
27 - KC, LAR, ATL, MIN
26 - SEA, SF
25
24 - GB
23 - JAX, DEN, CAR
22 - TEN, MIA
21 - NO, NYG, LAC
20 - PIT, LV, DAL
19 - NE
18 - CLE
17…
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) June 16, 2025
During Caleb Williams’ last press conference, he mentioned the “Ben Johnson Effect” when referring to how the new Bears head coach has impacted the quarterback so far during their time together.
The Bears will need that same effectiveness from Johnson on long touchdown drives of 70 yards or more.
Can the Bears go from worst to first in that category? It’s unlikely, but there should be a significant improvement in that area this upcoming season.
Where To Start
To illustrate the amount of work Johnson will have to do to improve this Bears' unit, here are some key stats from last season and how the two NFC North teams compared.
(All stats fromTeamRankings.com.)
2024 Season Chicago Bears Detroit Lions
Yards Per Play 4.5 (32nd) 6.3 (2nd)
First Downs Per Game 17.4 (31st) 24.2 (1st)
Third Down Conversions Per Game 4.5 (26th) 5.6 (6th)
Plays Per Game 62.6 (12th) 65.9 (2nd)
Average Time of Possession (Excluding OT) 30:01 (19th) 31:46 (2nd)
The Bears were a bad offense in 2024. After reviewing the above table, it's no surprise the team finished last in the league in touchdown drives of 70 yards or more.
Even with the addition of Johnson, the rest of the offensive coaching staff, the upgraded offensive line, and new pass-catching targets, fans shouldn't expect the Bears to replicate what the Lions did in 2024. That offense had years of experience with Johnson as the play caller to build together. This will be Year 1 of Johnson's offense. Expect mixed results.
Here is a look at what Johnson's Lions did in his first year as the offensive coordinator in 2022.
Lions Offense (2022)
Yards Per Play: 5.9 (4th)
First Downs Per Game: 22.1 (6th)
Third Down Conversions Per Game: 5.1 (16th)
Plays Per Game: 64.2 (13th)
Average Time of Possession (Excluding OT): 29:55 (12th)
Johnson's time in Detroit isn't an exact apples-to-apples comparison to his current position in Chicago. Before Johnson became the offensive coordinator, he served as the passing game coordinator in 2021, the tight ends coach from 2020 to 2021, and the offensive quality control coach in 2019 in Detroit.
Read more:Examining PFF's fascinating ranking of Bears' defensive line entering 2025
Johnson is a first-year head coach in Chicago with a coaching staff comprised of some people he has experience with and some he doesn't. The Bears' offense will take time to build, but as long as the team stays relatively healthy, the expectation should be to see improvement in many key areas offensively this upcoming season in Chicago.