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Bears head coach Ben Johnson.
Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson is taking the blame for the chaotic final play that sealed his team’s 42-38 loss to the San Francisco 49ers in Week 17.
Down four points with 2:15 left on the clock, the Bears drove down the field against the 49ers and made it to the doorstep of their seventh fourth-quarter comeback win of the season, spiking the ball with 4 seconds left to set up one last play from the 2-yard line.
The play-call that followed, though, did not work out for the Bears. Quarterback Caleb Williams had to roll out to his left to evade a free rusher and then found no one open in the end zone as the 49ers blanketed D.J. Moore and knocked down Luther Burden. He eventually underthrew a ball to Jahdae Walker, who couldn’t secure it. Game over.
“We didn’t quite get aligned in the formation we wanted to,” Johnson said in December 28’s postgame. “It’s on me. I didn’t get him the call fast enough, so he’s trying to piecemeal it together. I’ve got to do a better job on that.”
Ben Johnson Stands Behind Hook-And-Ladder Play
While the final play is bound to come under scrutiny, given the Bears did not score and lost the game, some have also questioned the big one that took place two plays earlier.
Before the spike and the subsequent final play, Johnson reached into his bag of tricks and called a hook-and-ladder play in which tight end Colston Loveland caught a 4-yard pass from Williams and lateraled it back to running back D’Andre Swift, who charged into a set of 49ers defenders and plowed his way to the 2-yard line for an 11-yard gain.
The problem, however, is that Swift neither scored nor got out of bounds, leaving the clock to drain all the way down to 4 seconds as the Bears scrambled to spike the ball. Had he managed to get out of bounds, the Bears might have had more than one play.
Even still, Johnson has now stood by the call twice when asked about it, once in the postgame and again on December 29 when asked about the “trust” he had to call it.
“I’m not happy with the result, OK?” Johnson said after crediting his players’ growth in being able to handle the more complex parts of his offensive playbook. “Would have loved to have scored a touchdown, would have loved to get out of bounds, and yet I think the guys did a pretty good job with the execution of the play.”
Bears ‘Playing to Win’ Against Detroit Lions in Week 18
While the loss to the 49ers stings and takes the Bears out of the running for the first-round bye in the playoffs, there is still plenty at stake for Chicago in Week 18.
For starters, the Bears have not locked up their playoff seeding. They will either finish as the No. 2 seed (if they win or Philadelphia loses) or the No. 3 seed (if they lose and the Eagles win). The biggest advantage to the 2-seed is that it would grant them home games through the first two rounds– and in the title game, if the 1-seed loses sooner.
That said, the Bears could also find themselves with two home playoff games if the right combination of teams loses in the wild-card round. They could even have three at home if the 7-seed (the Green Bay Packers) were to beat out the conference’s top two seeds.
Knowing that, some coaches might find merit in resting their starters instead and trying to preserve their roster’s health for the playoffs, giving little weight to playoff seeding.
Johnson, however, is not one of those coaches.
“We’re playing to win this week,” Johnson said Monday.
Jordan J. Wilson is a sports reporter who covers the NFL and MLB for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers. He has previously covered all levels of sports — high school, college and pro — for a variety of publications including The Indianapolis Star, The News-Gazette, Springfield State-Journal Register and Peoria Journal Star. More about Jordan J. Wilson
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