The NFL is known for being a copycat league and the Chicago Bears know all too well about that.
When one team starts incorporating a particular wrinkle into its offensive or defensive game plan, it’s expected that another team will at some point try to replicate it in its plan.
During the Bears’ Week 15 matchup against the Detroit Lions at Soldier Field in 2024, Ben Johnson, the Lions' offensive coordinator at the time, unveiled the “Stumblebum’ play, a call that had quarterback Jared Goff pretend to fall running back Jahmyr Gibbs faked a dive on the ground to recover a nonexistent fumble All that action in the backfield allowed tight end Sam LaPorta to get behind the Bears’ defense for a wide-open touchdown.
Johnson shared that the inspiration for the play came from a Bears’ Week 2 game against the Green Bay Packers in 2023. Again, the NFL is a copycat league.
Ben Johnson might now be influencing the college game in a positive way
But Johnson’s play has now trickled down to the college game. Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson sat down with former NFL head coach Jon Gruden to discuss a play that the Crimson Tide ran in the past. Just as Johnson drew up the play against the Bears in 2024, with the intentional fakes and all, the Crimson Tide did the same and hit on an explosive play for the offense.
Safe to say Jon Gruden is not a fan of Ben Johnson's “Stumblebum” trick play. pic.twitter.com/ByZDSEsFRb
— Kole Noble (@AtoZ_Slaw) April 14, 2026
Gruden thought Simpson and the Alabama running back actually slipped on the play, which shows the play's effectiveness when it's run properly.
Throughout the 2025 season, the Bears utilized “trick plays” to help score touchdowns. In Week 3, Johnson called a flea flicker, and Caleb Williams connected with Luther Burden III for a 65-yard touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys.
Against the Cincinnati Bengals, the Bears executed a double reverse, and DJ Moore threw a touchdown pass to Williams for the score.
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Johnson’s innovativeness as a play-caller gives the Bears’ offense creative flexibility and allows his unit to maximize any advantage, helping create explosive plays that other teams will inevitably use as their own.