Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson has made a name for himself with his aggressive mentality.
For some offensive play callers, fourth down usually signals that the defense did its job and forced the offense to concede.
That's not the case with Johnson. Since he started as the offensive play caller in Detroit in 2022, Johnson's units have had 146 total fourth-down attempts—the second-most in the NFL, just behind the Cleveland Browns (156), according to Radar360.
What goes behind Ben Johnson being aggressive with Bears?
In the Bears' 27-7 win over the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday Night Football, Johnson went for it on fourth-and-one from the Eagles' 32-yard line, with third-string quarterback Case Keenum making his first start since the 2023 season.
Keenum connected with rookie tight end Sam Roush for a 16-yard gain, and the Bears scored a touchdown on their opening drive. In the fourth quarter, the Bears' offense lined up to go for it on a fourth-and-two from the Eagles' 39-yard line. Keenum drew one of Philadelphia's defensive linemen offside, forcing a neutral zone infraction penalty. Chicago ended that drive with a one-yard rushing touchdown by Keenum.
In an interview with NFL Films, Johnson talked about the evolution of going for it on fourth down. While he was a part of the Miami Dolphins' organization with Dan Campbell (Lions head coach), Zac Taylor (Bengals head coach) going into the 2015 season, the team did an offseason study with the analytics crew. The Dolphins concluded that the team should go for it more on fourth down.
The Dolphins' season didn't allow the team to implement the new findings because Miami finished 6-10 that year, and head coach Joe Philbin was let go after four games. But the study clearly stuck with Johnson.
He also mentioned in an interview with NFL Films that the Philadelphia Eagles' 2017 Super Bowl run in 2017 showed how successful teams could be by going for it on fourth down. The Eagles led the NFL in fourth-down attempts with 27 in the regular season. The most memorable play from that Super Bowl team was the Philly Special, the Eagles' trick play on fourth-and-goal from the one-yard line with 38 seconds left in the second quarter.
Read more: How Bears' defense is quietly near the top of NFL in turnovers (again)
That aggressive mindset resonated with Johnson, so when he first became a play caller, he made sure to use fourth down as another opportunity for his offense. It's part of Chicago's identity since Johnson became the team's head coach in 2025.
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