Ben Johnson grinned wide in the afterglow of the Bears’ 31-23 win against the Falcons and placed his right hand over his heart. There was only one thing left for a proud coach to do before completing the scene with a “Good, Better, Best” chant heard round Atlanta.
He bent his right leg at the knee and shook the thing like a lunatic.
A visiting locker room full of delighted twentysomething gladiators probably could tell you exactly what maneuver Johnson was attempting, maybe even put a name on it. Either way, a man doesn’t have to dance well when his team is back on the good foot.
The Bears came out hot with the offense again in quarterback Caleb Williams’ hands, leading 14-0 after a first quarter so absurdly one-sided, the Bears outgained the Falcons 154 yards to three. They built a 28-7 lead and ended the game with better than a two-to-one edge in time of possession, hard to pull off even for the team that leads the NFL in that category.
A successful hook-and-lateral on the opening touchdown drive — Williams to Rome Odunze to Roschon Johnson — signaled how ready the mastermind of the Bears' offense was for this one. Calling for a D’Andre Swift run up the gut on third-and-goal from the 4 on the next drive — it worked like a charm, too — showed the coach’s aggressiveness in a different way, less flashy but loud and clear.
“If you could write a script,” Johnson said, “that’s what we would want to do.”
Of course, he’d done exactly that.
A little hook and ladder to get the first down
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) October 18, 2026
?: FOX pic.twitter.com/3SZ5qzXNiw
If it was a bad look for Johnson when the Bears were manhandled 31-7 by the Packers one week ago — and it absolutely was — this was the second-year coach shining anew, his 4-2 team back in the business of looking playoff worthy.
“I’m not surprised whatsoever,” he said. “It’s kind of been the history of those guys in that locker room. We get punched in the face, and they want to come back and make sure we get everything fixed, corrected and go on.”
Johnson needed a game like this — on what would have been Mike Ditka’s 87th birthday, no less.
“It was one of those crossroads, if you will,” he said.
Now, he’s back to having a leg up — crooked and shaking, but up — on those who took shots at him after, and were eager to rub his nose in, the fiasco in Green Bay.
Things happen fast in the NFL. The Bears have to do it all again Thursday at Soldier Field against the Patriots, the reigning champs of the AFC. The dance continues.
Caleb’s Hamstring Update: When has he ever declined an opportunity to fill in the evil media before?
Who’s Toting the Rock? Nothing would give the Bears a positive jolt more than the return of Kyle Monagai from a turf toe. And will Swift be able to go against the Pats?
Is Flash Gordon the Key on D? Having him out there again really gets the imagination revving.
