Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson has established himself as one of the best play callers in the NFL. Right up there with Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay. Monday night against the Philadelphia Eagles may have been one of his masterclasses. Just look at the situation. He is down to his third-string quarterback, Case Keenum. The Eagles are undefeated and have one of the most talented defenses in the NFL. Everybody, understandably, is picking them to win. Instead, Johnson has Keenum account for 3 touchdowns in a 27-7 blowout.
Part of that was having the quarterback well-prepared. However, Johnson’s true calling card has always been crafting some of the most bizarre play calls that most NFL coaches would never even think of. The Bears’ coach was in rare form in this game. There were multiple instances in which he threw things at the Eagles that no defense had ever prepared for. Easily the most widely discussed was when the Bears suddenly shifted right guard Jonah Jackson and right tackle Darnell Wright to the left side of the offensive line on a 3rd-and-1 play.
Moving receivers and tight ends around is one thing, but offensive linemen? That doesn’t happen unless there are injuries. It ...