Unpacking the Significance

1. Cultural Breakdown
Both plays exposed deep issues: senior players not stepping up, coaching not teaching the details, and execution faltering under pressure. The Hail Mary showed mental lapses; the trick play showed schematic vulnerability. The Bears were reactive, not proactive.
2. Coaching & Accountability
The front office realized that the coaching staff couldn’t just show up—they needed to instill discipline. The fact that one coach from Detroit had just exposed Chicago’s weakness made the need for change urgent.
3. Search for Identity
These moments forced the Bears into a reflection: What do we stand for? What method do we buy into? The answer led them to the man currently holding the clipboard, redesigning the offense and culture under his own name: Ben Johnson.
4. The Hiring of Johnson
On January 21, 2025, the Bears officially announced Ben Johnson as their head coach. Johnson, 38, came from Detroit, and was lauded for his innovative offense and leadership. Reuters The two aforementioned plays are cast now as symbolic turning points that cleared the way for that hiring.
5. The Weight of Expectations
Not just to win games, but to change the tone. Johnson’s assignment isn’t merely to install an offense. It’s to erase the mental breakdowns, the sloppy coverages, the trick-play susceptibility. Those two plays — more than 300 and 90 minutes of football — are shorthand for why the rebuild is non-negotiable.

What Johnson Brings

Johnson’s offensive philosophy is well documented. He emphasizes motion, play-action, and attacking the middle of the field—not simply deep shots. marqueesportsnetwork.com+1 He also won’t shy away from holding players accountable for alignment, focus, mental reps—the precise areas where the two defining plays exposed the Bears. In interviews, he has stressed physicality, tempo, and discipline. chicagobears.com

In short, Johnson is the answer the Bears believe fits the question posed by those two plays.

The Human Dimension

For players like Stevenson, LaPorta, and others, these plays are etched. For fans, they’re scars. For the front office, they’re proof. The locker room heard the message: the mistakes we make in glory moments bleed into the next season. Johnson will walk in knowing very clearly what he’s up against.

As Johnson said at the NFL Owners meetings: we’re building more than an offense—we’re building a competitive environment. chicagobears.com And for Chicago, the stakes are high: this isn’t just about winning again—it’s about not making those plays that defined the past nine months.

Implications for the 2025 Season & Beyond

• Offensive redesign: Expect a sharper scheme, clearer roles, more motion, and fewer mental errors.

• Roster evaluation: Players will be judged not only on talent but on assignment discipline and situational awareness.

• Culture shift: The two plays serve as reference points—“Did we give up that kind of play? Did we allow that scenario?”

• Fan patience: The front office is banking on narrative reset—but they’re aware the memories linger.

• Measurement: Every drive now carries extra weight. Execution. Discipline. No more “we almost” stories.

Closing: Beyond the Two Plays

The two plays—those brutal beacons of failure—did more than cost games. They revealed what the Bears were missing. They exposed fragile cultural foundations and opened the door for a change long deferred. In hiring Ben Johnson, the Bears made their answer concrete: We will not allow that to happen again.

For the city, the fans, the roster and the new coaching staff, the question isn’t just “What went wrong?” but “What goes right now?” The next time a sideline sees a hail-mary sail or a trick play freeze the moment, the Bears intend to be the ones delivering, not receiving.

The scars remain. The lessons are real. And now, under Johnson’s leadership, the Bears are tasked with converting those painful moments into fuel for a wholly different chapter.