Doubt Caleb Williams, Ben Johnson and the late-game Chicago Bears at your own peril

CHICAGO – Late in games, dismiss the Chicago Bears at your own peril.

Many opponents have made that mistake, only to learn the hard way that the Bears play until the clock hits zero. In fact, under the leadership of first-year head coach Ben Johnson and star second-year quarterback Caleb Williams, the Bears have proven to be the league’s most resilient bunch – chief among the reasons their thrilling show is still going strong.

The visiting Los Angeles Rams present the Bears’ next playoff challenge Sunday night during the NFC divisional round at Soldier Field.

No one needs to tell Rams head coach Sean McVay about the Bears’ flair for the dramatic while delivering strong closing punches. McVay has seen it all on film.

“I have a ton of respect for the Bears,” the Super Bowl winner told reporters in Los Angeles the other day.

Against the Bears, regardless of the score, McVay won’t get caught easing off the accelerator. He’s seen many of his coaching colleagues – whose seasons have ended – be fooled after exhaling in the fourth quarter – or even earlier.

The Green Bay Packers were the latest to leave the field speechless.

In the wild-card round, Chicago overcame an 18-point deficit – the largest postseason comeback in the history of the almost 106-year-old franchise – while rallying for a 31-27 victory over its NFC North archrival.

The Bears trailed 21-3 at halftime and 21-6 through three quarters. In the fourth, as they’ve become known for doing, the Bears overwhelmed the Packers. They outscored their guests 25-6, taking the lead on Williams’ 25-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver DJ Moore with 1:43 remaining to play.

The fourth-quarter comeback victory was the Bears’ seventh under Johnson – the most in the league this season.

To be sure, the Bears’ high-wire act is dangerous. But Johnson embraces who they are.

“It is our identity at this point,” Johnson said. “And some people say it’s not sustainable. The takeaways are. That’s who we are on defense. On offense, it’s explosive plays. That’s what we’ve done all year long – and coming up in big moments. It’s just resiliency.

“Knowing that late in the fourth quarter, that’s really when we’re at our best as a football team. We’ll keep striving to be better earlier in games and starting faster and all that. That’s something to work toward. … But we’ve got a group of guys that just don’t waver.”

The Bears went from 5-12 last season to their first division title in seven years and their first playoff victory in 15. Make no mistake, top-notch coaching makes a major difference.

This season, among new head coaches, Johnson would be a strong candidate for rookie of the year, if such an award existed for coaches. McVay, by any metric on the short list of the league’s best veteran head coaches, views Johnson as a formidable foe. Since Johnson was leading the Detroit Lions’ offense, McVay has studied him closely.

“The guys that do the best job are the ones that you can see [on film have] a true understanding of what defenses are doing,” McVay said. “And [are] intent to try to manipulate a lot of the rules and the coaching points, and to really try to attack your [defensive line], your coverage and understand some of the percentages of what you’re doing situationally. I mean, you can see there’s a philosophy and core beliefs in terms of how he wants to build it.”

From Johnson’s first day with the Bears, Williams saw it as well. Their strong relationship formed the foundation of Williams’ impressive improvement from his rocky rookie season, when the Bears were rudderless on the field.

His six fourth-quarter comeback victories in the regular season tied Peyton Manning’s single-season record for the most in league history by a first- or second-year passer. In the process, Williams silenced many of his harshest critics, who after his rookie season said the Bears chose poorly in picking the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner from USC.

This season, Williams has an offensive mentor who actually knows what he’s doing.

“You believe,” Williams said. “Obviously, he has a track record of being one of the best offensive coordinators. And right now, for me, he’s a top candidate for head coach of the year. I have these meetings with him, and our trust and our relationship, our bond, has grown.

“When you have that trust, and you’ve got somebody that has your back, the confidence goes through the roof. You have such belief in his play-calling, and you have such belief in your team, who’s out there on the field with you, the confidence goes through the roof.”

Throughout the season, the Bears have been raising the roof, doing their best work in the fourth as the clock winds down. On Sunday, the Rams know better than to relax while there’s even still a second on it.

The post Doubt Caleb Williams, Ben Johnson and the late-game Chicago Bears at your own peril appeared first on Andscape.