What to Expect out of Ben Johnson and the Chicago Bears Offense in 2025

Is Johnson’s highly touted offensive mind finally the difference maker in Chicago?

*Hey everyone — just a quick intro! My name’s Gary Baugher Jr., and I’m pumped to be joining Windy City Gridiron as a contributing writer. I’ve been a die-hard Bears fan for 35 years and spent over 16 years around organized football. I love talking all things football, especially diving into quarterback game reviews. Can’t wait to share my thoughts and connect with you all both this off-season and regular season!

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It’s been over five months since the dust settled after the Chicago Bears pried highly touted offensive coordinator Ben Johnson from the division rival Detroit Lions’ claws. In a move that even many Bears fans didn’t expect, the Bears, for once, landed the most in-demand coaching prospect on the market.

Dreams of finally seeing this franchise’s first 4,000-yard and 30-touchdown passer began to run rampant on social media — myself included.

After a deflating 45–31 loss to the Washington Commanders in the NFC Divisional Round, Ben Johnson swapped Honolulu Blue for Navy and Orange — trading former first overall pick Jared Goff for the 2024 first overall pick, Caleb Williams.

Caleb Williams’ season is well documented. Despite a tumultuous rookie campaign that saw both his offensive coordinator and head coach fired mid season for the first time in team history, He managed to set both a rookie and franchise mark in total yards (4,031), franchise rookie marks in Completions (351) Touchdowns (20) and Passer Rating (87.8) all the while setting the NFL rookie record for pass attempted without an Interception with 354.

Ben Johnson even highlighted Caleb Williams’ talent specifically as a reason why he chose to come to Chicago:

“There is no doubt Caleb played a large component into my decision, he is a phenomenal talent that had, as many Quarterbacks do, an up and down rookie year. Where I see my role is as a supporter of him, this offense will be calibrated with him in mind.” – Ben Johnson on Caleb Williams

Ben Johnson is no stranger to producing gaudy offensive numbers, having led a top-10 scoring offense in every season during his time in Detroit. He capped it all off by engineering the fourth-highest scoring offense in NFL history — a unit that racked up 564 points, or just under five touchdowns per game.

So what does this mean for the 2025 Chicago Bears? Let’s take a dive.

Play calling under Ben Johnson

Historically, Johnson calls a very balanced offense, with a Pass/Run call split in line with NFL averages. With both his passing and rushing offenses finishing no worse than 11th during his tenure with the Lions.

Ben Johnson is a strong proponent of using the ground game to set up the pass. By mixing inside and outside zone schemes with a wide range of concepts—jet sweeps, counters, pin-and-pull, and gap runs—his rushing attack keeps defenses off balance.

Whether out of play action or traditional dropbacks, Johnson frequently employs hi-low concepts in the passing game, often with the tight end running an option route to read the coverage and exploit soft spots in the defense.

But it’s through play-action where his offense is most lethal — with Jared Goff ranking as the fourth-best quarterback in the NFL in EPA per dropback on play-action passes in 2024.

Injecting Caleb Williams into the Ben Johnson Offense

The struggles of the 2024 Chicago Bears have been well documented. The unit faltered in nearly every major facet of offensive football — and at times, made the game, well… offensive.

But for all the bad, there was good to extract — and that good was Caleb Williams.

So what does he bring to the table?

First and foremost, one of the more understated aspects of Caleb Williams’ game is his ability to attack the middle of the field. According to PFF, when targeting between the hashes from 0 to 19 yards, Williams completed 115 of 156 passes (73.7%) for 1,187 yards, 5 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions — good for a 105.9 passer rating.

For comparison, Jared Goff completed 197 of 248 passes (79.4%) in the same area, throwing for 2,368 yards, 18 touchdowns, and 8 interceptions, resulting in a 117.2 rating.

The fact that Caleb Williams has already shown he can play safe and efficient football over the middle in his rookie year bodes well for Ben Johnson’s play-action-heavy offensive identity. With versatile tight ends like Colston Loveland and Cole Kmet working the middle and attacking the seam, Williams will have reliable targets to maximize that part of the field. Combined with Johnson’s frequent use of hi-low passing concepts, Caleb’s production over the middle should only continue to grow.

One new element Caleb Williams brings to the table is the threat he poses as a rusher in the RPO game — something Ben Johnson never had at his disposal in Detroit with Jared Goff. While there isn’t a deep data set on Johnson’s RPO usage, it’s safe to assume we’ll see him tailor the offense to capitalize on his second-year quarterback’s mobility. Williams finished seventh among quarterbacks in rushing last season, racking up 489 yards on the ground.

So…what can we expect from the 2025 Bears offense?

Well, this is where we start to speculate — so let’s take a look at some numbers and break it down.

In 2024, the Bears operated with a 59.5% pass to 40.5% run split, making them one of the most pass-heavy teams in the league. That imbalance was driven in part by a subpar ground game, which certainly wasn’t helped by instability along the offensive line.

At USC, Caleb Williams operated in a more balanced system, with a 56/44 pass/run split in 2023 and a 52.3/47.7 split in 2022. With Ben Johnson now calling the plays — and being known for using the run game to set up his offense — we can expect that balance to shift. A projected 2025 split of around 54–55% pass and 45–46% run feels realistic.

Depth backs like Roschon Johnson and rookie Kyle Monangai should see increased roles as well, given Johnson’s history of leaning on a true “running back by committee” approach.

Caleb Williams ran play action on just 15.1% of his passing attempts in 2024 — a stark contrast to Jared Goff, who used play action on 37.7% of his attempts that same year. For further context, Goff ran play action on 25.0% of his dropbacks in 2023 and 26.2% in 2022.

With Ben Johnson now at the helm, the Bears’ play action usage should climb significantly — likely landing in the 24–25% range. The additions of tight end Colston Loveland and Williams’ natural ability to attack the middle of the field only reinforce that projection.

Efficiency metrics like yards per attempt, yards per completion, and yards per rush should all see a boost as well, thanks to a revamped offensive line and a scheme tailored to Williams’ strengths. By the end of the 2024 season, the Bears’ offense had grown stagnant — evidenced by a season-low 2.1 average depth of target (aDOT) for Williams. Then again, we all know how that story ended.

It’s an exciting time in Chicago. With a new coaching regime, a franchise quarterback, and a fresh offensive vision, the foundation is set. What happens next is anyone’s guess — but this writer can’t wait to see how it unfolds in 2025.