In his first game as a head coach, Ben Johnson got dealt a learning experience. His Chicago Bears started with a purpose, seizing control of the game early. However, things unraveled in the second half as the offense went cold and bad mistakes allowed the Minnesota Vikings to rally. To his credit, and probably the surprise of many, Johnson took ownership of many of those issues. During a teleconference on Tuesday, he admitted that he didn’t call a good game offensively. Allowing Cairo Santos to attempt kicking it through the end zone was also a mistake he admitted.
However, his most telling answer came when breaking down his biggest error. It came in the third quarter. Minnesota hit T.J. Hockenson on a short pass with the tight end going to his knees. He appeared to try standing up. Right as that happened, linebacker Noah Sewell punched the ball out. Hockenson was ruled down by contact, though. Johnson challenged the play, believing the knees were off the turf. They were not. That decision cost the Bears a timeout, which proved crucial in the game’s final minutes.
Johnson admitted that his people in the booth told him not to challenge it. He did anyway.
“I thought I saw knees up, and so that’s on me. I’ve got to do a better job listening to the guys up top. I get influenced a little bit for the first time with the people around me, and I’ve just got to stay true to the process.
“Those (timeouts) are very valuable, and having that at the end of the game would have been huge for us.”
Ben Johnson made what anybody would call a rookie mistake.
He was caught up in the moment, believing he had a chance at getting the ball back and putting the game away. More seasoned coaches wouldn’t have taken the risk, knowing they’d need the timeouts later. Ben Johnson recognized the mistake and, again, owned up to it. He is learning quickly who and who not to trust with big decisions. In this case, trust the people you hired to watch replay videos, but don’t trust a kicker you should know doesn’t have a strong leg to do something only strong-legged kickers can. These are all things head coaches learn on the job, often the hard way. At least Johnson isn’t trying to bury his head in the sand until people stop talking about it. Don’t be surprised if he doesn’t make those mistakes a second time.
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