Mandatory Credit: Daniel Bartel-Imagn Images

NFL Analyst Explores the Caleb Williams Situation in Chicago Under New Head Coach Ben Johnson

Can Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams lead the Bears back to the playoffs?

Mandatory Credit: Daniel Bartel-Imagn Images

In the upcoming 2025 season, the Chicago Bears will have a chip on their shoulders. Following all the hype surrounding Caleb Williams and the offensive overhaul in the 2024 offseason, the Bears were expected to improve their record and get within range of making the postseason.

In fact, some experts even predicted that the Bears would make the playoffs, that’s how good of an offseason Chicago had after moving on from former QB Justin Fields. Unfortunately, though, that was not the case, and after starting 4-2 before the bye week, the Bears plummeted to 10 defeats in a row.

Changes Made by the Bears in 2025

While Chicago had invested heavily in its offense last year, with multiple weapons for Williams to throw to, including DJ Moore, Keenan Allen, and rookie wideout Rome Odunze, the main issue at hand was the awful play by the offensive line.

Much has changed in this year’s offseason, though, as general manager Ryan Poles has invested heavily in restructuring the O-line, bringing in All-Pro guard Joe Thuney from the Chiefs and former Rams guard Jonah Jackson to significantly improve the interior.

Position Preview: Offensive Line

Take a look at how the Bears revamped their interior OL this offseason to complement a group of returning tackles ⬇️https://t.co/18IOG7p3l1
— gabby hajduk (@GabbyHajduk) July 14, 2025

Furthermore, Chicago brought in Ben Johnson from the Lions as their new head coach, a move that is expected to help Williams have a strong sophomore year in the NFL.

Johnson, who was the offensive co-ordinator with the Lions for the past three years, is credited with turning around the franchise’s offense into a high-flying, free-scoring one. Now, he is expected to bring a similar type of gameplay to Chicago.

Kay Adams Discusses How Ben Johnson Can Turn Things Around for Caleb Williams

NFL analyst Kay Adams discussed the Bears and their current situation on her podcast ‘Up & Adams’ with future Hall of Fame linebacker Luke Kuechly. The former defender was quick to point out how Poles and Johnson strengthened the offensive line this year after Williams took plenty of sacks and hits in 2024. In fact, the Bears’ signal caller was the most sacked quarterback in the league last season.

Kuechly also alluded to the fact that the offense is heavily loaded with top quality receivers and tight ends such as Cole Kmet and rookie Colston Loveland, along with D’Andre Swift in the backfield.

The right man for the job.

What will Ben Johnson unlock in Caleb Williams in year 2️⃣? pic.twitter.com/ElfNRLacyw
— NFL Films (@NFLFilms) July 15, 2025

But it was his point regarding Ben Johnson’s system, which he used in Detroit last season in comparison to what the Bears did in 2024, that stuck out. The 2013 Defensive Player of the Year identified the use of play-action in the Lions system as opposed to the lack of it with the Bears as being a key differentiator.

“I think what changes for Caleb Williams that’s going to be super helpful is the amount of play-action pass that Detroit used last year with Jared Goff was, you know, top five in the league. And then you look on the contrary with the Bears, not a ton of play-action pass from them last year. And the play-action pass does a lot of things. It provides easy windows for the quarterback to throw the ball. There’s easy built-in checkdowns, guys in the flat, easy completions.”

Kuechly also went on to elaborate in detail on how engaging in play-action assists the offensive line as well. With this system, the defense is constantly on its toes, looking at what is unfolding in front of them rather than just rushing forward in an attempt to pin their offensive counterparts backward.

“It takes a lot of pressure off the offensive line because instead of playing pure drop back pass, where these defensive linemen can pin the ears back and rush. They’re taking a play-action run fake. They’re moving sideways and instead of moving vertically, they’re (moving) sideways and then vertical off the play-action pass. And I just…you got to imagine that Caleb’s going to be more comfortable going into year two.”

Future HOF'er Luke Kuechly is in on Caleb Williams & the @ChicagoBears !pic.twitter.com/D0PmyzZfQv
— Kay Adams (@heykayadams) July 14, 2025

The type of offseason that Chicago has had, there is certainly a great deal of expectation and optimism among Bears’ fans for 2025. With a new system in place, improved O-line protection, and other changes that have taken place, will this be the year the Bears make a deep run in the postseason?

Mandatory Credit: Daniel Bartel-Imagn Images

Ben Johnson

Caleb Williams

Chicago Bears

Kay Adams

NFL

Up & Adams

Devavrat Kulkarni

nfl

I am a content writer for the NFL team, and joined The Playoffs after working with Sportskeeda and NFL Analysis as an NFL writer. After starting my professional career as a French-to-English translator, working as a content writer is a new adventure for me. I started out in the sports media field for two main reasons: my love for sports in general, especially the NFL, NBA, and Tennis, as well as my passion for writing. The best part of this job is that I get to write a variety of pieces with the freedom to explore content from various angles. It also enables me to stay up to date with the sporting world, which otherwise can be difficult to do in the day-to-day grind. In a world full of chaos, sports unite and entertain like nothing else!