GREEN BAY, WISCONSIN – JANUARY 5: Green Bay Packers defense lines up during the fourth quarter of an NFL football game against the Chicago Bears, at Lambeau Field on January 5, 2025 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. (Photo by Todd Rosenberg/Getty Images) Getty Images
**Author’s note: Much of this was written in the preseason, but I waited to post these until later in the season for Chicago Bears week. We’ve learned a lot about the Bears since the end of summer, as they have surprised everyone to sit in the #1 seed at 9-3. New analysis is added below.**
Week 14, 12/7 at Green Bay
Offensive Coordinator – Declan Doyle
Defensive Coordinator – Dennis Allen
Special Teams Coordinator – Richard Hightower
WR Olamide ZaccheausWR Luther Burden (2nd Rd, 39th Overall)TE Colston Loveland (1st Rd, 10th Overall)LG Joe ThuneyC Drew DalmanRG Jonah JacksonT Ozzy Trapilo (2nd Rd, 56th Overall)DT Grady JarrettDT Shemar Turner (2nd Rd, 62nd Overall)EDGE Dayo OdeyingboLB Ruben Hyppolite (4th Rd, 132nd Overall)WR Keenan AllenTE Gerald EverettLG Teven JenkinsC Coleman SheltonRG Matt PryorDT Byron CowartEDGE DeMarcus WalkerEDGE Darrell Taylor
The Chicago Bears began last season with optimistic expectations. Although the Bears obtained the top draft selection to pick Caleb Williams, they placed him on a team that rarely selects first overall. Before last season, the Bears maintained a 7-10 record while operating with a respectable defensive unit. The Bears secured a chance to compete right away after adding new weapons at receiver, along with a quarterback upgrade.
The Bears experienced a swift transition from promising beginnings to disastrous results during the season. During the initial 4-2 period, the Bears seemed to be marching forward. The season suffered a complete collapse due to inadequate game management, combined with defensive struggles and poor offense execution.
The Bears dismissed their offensive coordinator after completing nine games of the season. The head coach received his termination from the team only a short period following his dismissal. The football world began speculating that Caleb Williams might not be the suitable quarterback pick for Chicago because Jayden Daniels produced exceptional results in the second overall selection.
The inaugural year of your franchise quarterback should not start with such disappointing results. The Bears required immediate action to develop their offense beyond the quarterback position during this offseason.
Young franchise quarterbacks require organizations to develop all elements of their game. During the initial stages of his career, every organizational decision should focus on giving him the tools needed for success.
That means pass protection. That means a running game. That means an assortment of weapons. It means a scheme that makes life easy. Williams experienced minimal support in developing his game last year.
The Bears fixed their deficiencies this offseason through their acquisition of Ben Johnson as their new head coach. The Bears acquired an excellent offensive mind through Ben Johnson, who successfully rebuilt the Lions’ offense from their 2021 NFL worst-to-top-5 scoring offense during his three years as offensive coordinator.
Johnson’s approach is going to help Williams. The Bears successfully recruited new players to execute Johnson’s system because he needed no obstacles to implement his offense.
The Bears fortified their interior blocking with Drew Dalman at center and Joe Thuney and Jonah Jackson at guard positions. They also selected tight end Colston Loveland with their 10th overall selection to create a tight end duo with Cole Kmet. The team selected wide receiver Luther Burden during the second round as they added him to their existing receivers , D.J. Moore and Rome Odunze.
They possess enough talent on offense to function both with large formations and by dispersing their players across the field. The Bears maintain offense flexibility because they have a balanced attack. The team should face simpler defensive schemes because of their improved running game and better quarterback play.
Your quarterback will benefit from defensive strategies that create obvious coverage patterns while creating individual matchups outside the tackles. The same strategy Johnson used in Detroit will probably be his approach for the Bears in Chicago.
The biggest change for Caleb Williams will be an offensive scheme that doesn’t ask him to play hero ball every other game. Williams has the smarts to run the offense at the line of scrimmage, but for a rookie in an unfavorable situation last season, this undoubtedly put too much on his plate.
In Ben Johnson’s offense, he’ll be able to play fast and loose with much more taken off his plate. Johnson’s offense will rely heavily on play action to scheme up easy completions.
A staple play action pass around the NFL and one the Bears will likely rely on heavily for Williams is “drift” (what Matt LaFleur calls “strike”). The play concept is a short dig route over the middle behind linebackers that come up in run support after seeing the run action on the play fake.
Other times, Johnson will make life easier for Williams with coverage indicators identified in the pre-snap that will also allow Williams to play fast and loose.
On the play above, the Bears are in man coverage cover-1, and Jared Goff identifies this by the motion in and out of the wide receiver and the safety out wide covering the tight end. All Goff had to do was identify the blitz, and the middle of the field was wide open.
In the low red zone, there are other ways to get indicators and make Williams’ life easy pre- and post-snap.
Teams will usually line up in man coverage in the very low red zone to make throwing windows tighter so one way Johnson will get guys open is when he lines up his personnel. Johnson’s formation has the tight end and running back to the left. The Seahawks corner stays on that side, indicating low red zone coverage instead of man. With the corner bailing, Goff just has to read the technique. He comes to the flat first, and it’s easy pickings.
In the second clip in that video from last season, the Lions line up a receiver in the backfield, and the Packers can’t sort out how to cover him. The confusion has two defenders racing to cover the receiver out to the flat, leaving the stick route wide open.
Biggest Questions Entering 2025
How will Caleb Williams adapt to Ben Johnson’s system? The main aspect to monitor during this upcoming season will be Williams’ performance within Ben Johnson’s system.
The main difference in how Williams plays will become apparent during every down of the game. The foundation of Johnson’s system depends on quarterbacks using center positions. The Lions established themselves as the NFL team that operated under center the most in 2024, according to statistics.
During his college years and his first year in the league, Williams did not exhibit this particular playing style. The Bears’ defense placed 18th in the NFL last season in terms of under-center passing plays. Williams placed 34th in the NFL regarding under-center pass attempt distribution (NFL quarterbacks only).
When the Bears operated from under center, they primarily conducted running plays. Through my analysis of film footage, I observed that the Bears ran screen passes or play-action boots whenever they threw from under center. Defenses were prepared for that predictability last season.
The upcoming season will not follow this pattern, yet its extent remains uncertain. Johnson must discover a middle ground between his preferred methods and Williams’ comfort level. The back-and-forth interaction between quarterback and play-caller will manifest in this particular situation.
Heading into week 14, the Bears (9-3) are the current #1 seed in the NFC while the Packers (8-3-1) sit in the 6th seed and division rivals the Lions on the outside looking in two games behind San Francisco.
Caleb Williams and the Bears offense have received extensive discussion , but the upcoming defense presents a fascinating case for analysis. Chicago’s defensive unit has maintained its strength during recent years while making minimal changes to its personnel throughout the offseason.
The main modification occurred when Dennis Allen took over as defensive coordinator. The Saints’ defense under Allen established itself as a top-10 scoring defense during four consecutive years before 2024. The defense employs both a strong system of disguise and multiple defensive strategies to prevent offenses from predicting their moves.
Allen’s defensive system gave multiple good quarterbacks fits. Since 2020, his defense has put the clamps on some of the game’s best quarterbacks. Aaron Rodgers had 3 touchdowns and 2 interceptions, Dak Prescott had 2 touchdowns and 3 interceptions, Patrick Mahomes had 0 touchdowns and 1 interception in one game, and Jalen Hurts had 1 touchdown and 1 interception in 3 games.
And before Tom Brady retired, he threw 11 touchdowns and 9 interceptions in 7 games with Tampa Bay from 2020-2022. During the last 5 seasons, the Saints had the #1 overall defense cumulatively by EPA/play. This suggests that current NFL quarterbacks will encounter major difficulties with this defensive scheme. The defensive unit, which was already solid, will likely experience a significant improvement in 2025.
Caleb Williams, alongside the Bears offense, will display the same patterns. Johnson’s scheme will provide Williams with more stability. Williams must throw the ball according to the designed routes because the targets will be open when he adopts this approach instead of trying to create desperate plays.
The Bears’ offense possesses better potential because Williams demonstrates superior talent compared to Jared Goff. When Williams combines ball distribution with reserved playmaking, he will transform the Bears into a league-leading offense.