Hot Take Tuesday: Ben Johnson already the best in the NFL?

Oh, baby!

The Chicago Bears decided to give the Haters the middle finger on Black Friday and announce to the NFL world that they are for real.

The Haters are still clinging to “Oh, well, the Eagles are collapsing! They still haven’t beaten anyone!” Beat the Packers, and they’ll blame the Tucker Kraft injury. It’ll go on and on because DVOA hates the Bears, so they must suck.

It’s enough. It’s over. How good are the Bears? I don’t know, but there’s no question that the Bears are a legitimately good football team.

I’ve been telling everybody to just keep your expectations low because everything is gravy at this point, because it’s all pointed in the right direction, and they’ve overachieved.

But then they went into Philadelphia and beat the defending Super Bowl champions by two scores.

And why have we gotten to this point? The answer is simple: Ben Johnson. Do we, as Bears fans, truly understand how good Ben Johnson is? Do we all really get it?

Here it is: he is the offensive version of Bill Belichick. I’m talking prime Bill Belichick, not this North Carolina nonsense.

Yeah, I said it.

The strategic advantage that Ben Johnson gives the Bears over the other teams in the league can’t even really be quantified. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the Bears play their best football in the fourth quarter. It’s not just belief, it’s not just effort. It’s Ben Johnson.

Johnson uses the first three quarters as data points to see how the defenses respond to his game plan, and allows him to call the most effective plays when the game matters. Caleb Williams needs to execute it, of course, but Johnson knows exactly what should work, and he dials it up.

Obviously, the head coaching resume is still pretty bare, but the accolades, division titles, and playoff wins are coming.

Ask yourself this question: What head coach in the league would you trade straight up for Ben Johnson? And when I say that, I don’t just mean right now, I mean moving forward. What head coach would you trade Ben Johnson for? Andy Reid? He’s going to retire in a couple of years. Sean McVay? Can you trust him not to quit and go become a television analyst? Kyle Shanahan? Can he win the big one?

I’m telling you right now, at this point, there isn’t a coach in the league I would take over Ben Johnson. Not one. Because here’s the thing. He’s still new at this. He should only get better. This is only his fourth season calling plays. Andy Reid’s been doing it for 27 years. Shannahan has done it for 18 years. McVay has been doing it for 11.

What is Ben Johnson’s ceiling? How good can this get? If you would trade Ben for any other coach in the NFL (or even college), I’d question your decision. I think he’s that good, and he’s ascending.

I’ve been covering this Bears team for over a decade, and I’ve been watching this Bears team since the 1980s. I’ve been covering the NFL as a media member for 25 years. I’ve been dabbling in All 22s for 5 or 6 years as well. Was this the greatest performance by an offensive line/run scheme in NFL history? Certainly not. But I’ll tell you what, it’s the best one I can truly remember, and I can confidently say there hasn’t been a better performance in at least the last 15 years.

The Philadelphia Eagles have arguably the greatest defensive coordinator in the history of the NFL. They have an incredibly talented front four and a very good group of linebackers. The Chicago Bears dominated them at the point of attack. The defensive line was on its heels all game. The linebackers didn’t know what direction plays were headed. They. Were. Dominated.

Ben Johnson has raised the bar at Halas Hall, and because of it, he’s raised the expectations of Bears fans across the country. It’s a brand new world in Lake Forest. The Bears are real, and they are spectacular.

It’s all because of one man, Ben Johnson.

I’d tell him to take a bow, but all he would tell me is that the job isn’t finished.