The Chicago Bears' Week 9 battle with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers featured a matchup of two of the most prominent minds in the NFL: Ben Johnson and Todd Bowles. Johnson's offense had been unstoppable since Caleb Williams' return from injury, and Bowles' defense ranked first in most metrics.
We'll call the result a draw. The Bears came away with the win on Sunday Night Football, but Bowles had Williams seeing ghosts for most of the game.
Still, in the midst of the five turnovers, Johnson's play-calling expertise was easy to see. He found creative ways to counter Bowles' blitz-heavy scheme, even if Williams didn't always find the open man.
In fact, Johnson's best call of the day ended in an incompletion.
Caleb Williams missed a gift-wrapped explosive pass in Bears' win over Buccaneers
On the Bears' first drive of the second quarter, Johnson went for a kill shot. Chicago was already up 14-3, and at that point, Williams was dialed in.
On the first play of the drive, the Bears lined up in a trips formation to the right, with two tight ends outside of Rome Odunze. The Buccaneers responded by overloading their defensive formation to the same side.
The Bears then shifted both tight ends to in-line alignments, one on each side of the formation. Williams and D'Andre Swift shifted from the shotgun to line up under center, creating a balanced look. Tampa Bay didn't fully rotate to match the change in strength, though, leaving the left side of the field vulnerable to a run.
Johnson knew exactly how to take advantage. The Bears faked a run to the left, forcing the linebackers and safeties to overreact. Luther Burden III, lined up on the left, ran a deep corner-post, pulling a cornerback and a safety with him. Odunze ran a crossing route into the wide-open space that Burden III left behind.
Ben Johnson drew up a wide-open crosser against the Buccaneers, but Caleb Williams didn’t find it. pic.twitter.com/lYroN8wlHL
— Michael Haney (@michaelhaneyNFL) November 9, 2026
Instead of hitting Odunze in stride for a chunk gain, Williams scrambled to his right and ended up throwing the ball away. He was pressured slightly, but he had space in the pocket to step up and make the throw to Odunze. It's a throw that he can and should make.
The Bears were able to recover the drive, pushing into Buccaneers territory, but Williams threw an interception in the red zone that allowed Tampa Bay back into the game.
Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams are still smoothing out the bumps in Bears' offense
At their best, Williams and Johnson are unstoppable. The coach can scheme up open looks against any defensive system, and the quarterback has the arm to access any spot on the field. We've seen the duo roll through opponents in recent weeks.
But it's important to remember that their connection still isn't completely refined. Johnson and Williams have only had 25 games together, and Johnson's system is notoriously detailed and difficult to grasp, especially for a young quarterback.
The offense has shown significant progress since Johnson arrived, but there are bound to be a few bumps along the road. Bears fans can't expect the unit to get better and better each week, especially when it faces elite defenses that bring exotic blitzes.
As Williams gets used to Johnson's system, he sometimes fails to find open receivers when they aren't his primary read. On the deep shot that Johnson drew up, it looked like Burden III was the primary read on the corner-post. When he wasn't open, Williams chose to scramble instead of finding Odunze.
Johnson himself has some improving to do, too. He tends to put too much on Williams' plate, abandoning the run in important moments.
The game against the Buccaneers was one to forget for Williams and Johnson, but there's no need to panic. This offense is still finding its rhythm.
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