Ben Johnson knew what he was walking into. He’d experienced what it was like trying to turn around a franchise known only for losing for years. The Detroit Lions were a laughing stock for over two decades, despite having a future Hall of Famer at quarterback. However, Dan Campbell arrived with a plan and executed it to perfection. So Johnson knew he’d have to be ready with one of his own when he took over a team coming off one of its most harrowing seasons in franchise history. Pulling them out of that dark place would not be easy.
Yet somehow he did it. Chicago is 6-3, already eclipsing their win total from last season, and is right behind Detroit for the NFC North lead. How did Johnson do it? Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated found out via Rome Odunze. It came from instituting a three-step system.
Odunze told me after the game that Johnson has drilled the players on the three stages of team building—hope, belief and knowing. “We are operating the stage of knowing now,” the second-year receiver said. “When you have gone through it and seen it through, you operate in the knowing.” And explains where they’re getting to with Williams as well.
“Anytime he has an opportunity to make a play for us, he does it,” he said. “It’s been awesome to see. He took it into his own hands, gave us the lead, and put us on his back right there. He’s always had that factor. I’ve seen that on him. Excited to see more of it.”
Hope you can win. Believe you can win. Know you will win. Getting a team from the first step to the last is not easy. Instilling hope was the most difficult part. For Johnson, that moment came when he helped engineer the defeat of the Dallas Cowboys after starting the season 0-2. Next came belief. Josh Blackwell kick-started that in Las Vegas.
Ben Johnson knew that last-second escape shifted the tides.
Those were the games Chicago always seemed to lose. They’d find a way to take a lead late, only to watch it slip away in the final seconds. Not this time. Two weeks later came what was probably the moment everything changed. The Bears exorcized their demons from last year, knocking off the Washington Commanders with a 4th quarter comeback, just like they’d done with the Hail Mary last year. The last of the three-punch combination came in Cincinnati, where Caleb Williams and Colston Loveland authored a wild finish with a 58-yard game-winning TD after watching the defense surrender a 41-27 lead. That concluded the belief stage.
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Now they have entered “knowing.” They’ve become a team that knows they can win. You sensed it on Sunday against New York. Even as the Giants built their 20-10 lead in the 4th quarter, it never seemed like the Bears were nervous. They trusted that Ben Johnson would give Williams the necessary opportunities to get them back into the game. That is precisely what happened. Chicago scored to make it 20-17. The defense took its cue and immediately got a stop. Williams then finished it off with a long touchdown run to put the game away.
The confidence is brimming like it hasn’t in a long time. Johnson knows the job is far from finished, but his plan has worked beautifully to this point.