Chicago Bears fans spent much of last season enjoying something they hadn’t had in a while: a team that looked organized, confident and dangerous. Ben Johnson was at the center of it, and one of the more revealing parts of his offense was hiding in plain sight.
Ryan Paganetti, an NFL analyst who previously worked with the Philadelphia Eagles, Jacksonville Jaguars and Las Vegas Raiders, recently dug into one specific tendency from Johnson’s playbook. The numbers show that on 2nd-and-1, Johnson is willing to go against the usual script far more often than most play callers.
Plenty of coaches simply hand the ball off and take the easy first down. Johnson, though, is far more likely to treat that spot as a chance to attack.
That kind of aggression helped fuel a Bears offense that finished 9th in the NFL in yards per play last season at 5.7. Chicago was already productive in several major categories, but the real ceiling may still be ahead of it.
The biggest swing factor is Caleb Williams. His completion percentage sat at 58.1 last season, and Johnson has already made clear that improving that number is a priority heading into the 2026 season. That alone changes the conversation around what this offense can become in Year 2.
Last season was full of near-misses for Chicago - plays that had the look of explosives before ending in incompletions. Bears fans know the type of snap: a receiver unable to finish the catch, or Williams just off target. Olamide Zaccheaus, in particular, is a name that may still bring back those memories.
But if Williams were to climb to 63 percent completion, which is merely average, the math gets interesting fast. Using the Bears’ 1,103 plays and 6,282 total yards from last season, along with Williams’ 568 passing attempts and his 11.9 yards per completion, that bump would have lifted Chicago to 5.89 yards per play. That would have ranked 3rd in the NFL, behind only the Rams and Patriots.
That’s the kind of leap that makes Johnson’s approach so intriguing. The Bears were already moving the ball. If the passing game sharpens even a little, the offense could look a lot different very quickly.
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