Bears coach Ben Johnson held his laminated call sheet in front of his mouth but pulled it away in plenty of time to give lip-readers a fighting chance.
About 25 minutes into a game that would end in a 24-24 tie Sunday at Soldier Field, the Bears faced a fourth-and-goal at the Dolphins’ 4. Johnson called the play in for quarterback Tyson Bagent on his headset but said, through gritted teeth, more than just the formation, route and blocking scheme.
“Probably something like, ‘We’re going for it,’ ’’ said Bagent, who threw a touchdown pass to Maurice Alexander along the back line of the end zone. “And throw in a couple of filler words there.”
Johnson doesn’t try to hide his intensity.
“I was told today was Family Day, and so we had a lot of kids,” he said. “It’s probably a good thing they couldn’t hear me on the sideline.”
Pressed on what he said, he gave a knowing smile.
“I don’t even know what I’m saying,” he said. “Yeah. We’re looking to score.”
Johnson didn’t play quarterback Caleb Williams or most of his starters, but don’t think for a second that he found the game insignificant. The message he delivered in the locker room before the game captured that perfectly.
“The game doesn’t count,” Bagent recalled him saying. “But the game matters.”
Johnson invoked John Elway, the Broncos quarterback-turned-executive, who was so disgusted by a 40-10 preseason loss in 2013 that he stomped into the locker room and told his team that the performance was unacceptable. The Broncos went on to play in the Super Bowl.
Johnson’s right on another front — the scores of preseason games don’t matter one bit. His predecessor, Matt Eberflus, went 8-2 in three preseasons. He was undefeated in his first preseason and again last year. He won four games — three against playoff teams — by a combined 78 points last year. He eventually became the first Bears coach fired during the season.
The Bears have spent most of their 105 years hiring assistant coaches to run teams for the first time in their lives and praying they figure it out. Most have failed. Johnson’s challenges will be no different — not that a tie against the Dolphins would change anything.
There were indications, though, that some of the Bears’ long-standing problems have a chance of getting fixed. Bagent called Johnson’s act of getting the plays called into his helmet “very efficient,” a breath of fresh air for any fan who remembers Matt Nagy or Eberflus running players, or plays, onto the field too late.
“He didn’t hesitate,” Bagent said. “He called his game.”
Johnson showed poise in special situations, too. Given the ball at his 48 with six seconds left in the first half, Johnson called a short pass to Luther Burden III, who sprinted to the sideline with one second to play. Kicker Cairo Santos then drilled a 57-yard field goal.
Those small clues will have to do for now, given that Johnson didn’t play most of his starters.
The Dolphins deemed quarterback Tua Tagovailoa worthy of starting, and he went 5-for-6 for 27 yards on their opening drive.
“I don’t undervalue the process of getting ready for a game,” Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said. “I think our team can benefit.”
Johnson, however, chose not to play Williams. Instead, he had him run almost 70 plays in a practice setting hours before kickoff. Johnson called in the plays to Williams, who was put in scenarios on first, second and third down. Williams threw passes to wide receivers DJ Moore, Rome Odunze and Olamide Zaccheaus, tight end Cole Kmet and running back D’Andre Swift.
“There is no substitute for real live bullets — I get that,” Johnson said. “At the same time, when you can accumulate 70-plus reps in a day, that’s pretty good. And that goes a long way in terms of where you want to go with the connection with his pass catchers. I wish I could do that every day, or every other, with him.”
Johnson has said Williams likely will play in a preseason game. Some light work — 10 plays, maybe? — seems likely against the Bills next week, given that the third preseason game is usually reserved for the back end of the roster.
“We’ll see what next week has in mind,” Johnson said.
Bagent marched the Bears to 10 points in the second quarter — the four-yarder to Alexander and the Santos field goal — before giving way to Case Keenum, who is only one year younger than Johnson. He went 8-for-10 with two touchdown passes.
The Bears have painted the battle between the two as competition for the second-string job. Bagent, who went 13-for-19 with a touchdown pass and an interception, seems likely to be the first one off the bench were anything to happen to Williams. The team will keep three quarterbacks and values having Keenum around to share veteran knowledge with their second-year starter. Austin Reed, who played most of the fourth quarter, is a practice-squad candidate.
Johnson was pleased with their effort, even if the result left him fit to be tied.
“You just don’t know how to feel when it ends up being 24-24,” Johnson said. “It doesn’t matter — preseason or not. You go out there, they’re keeping score, and you’re playing to win.”
Ben Johnson walked away with a 24-24 tie against the Dolphins in his head-coaching debut.
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He and Nahshon Wright are fighting for a starting job.
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Had Sunday been a regular season game, the kick would have been the longest of his career.
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