Ben Johnson Got Too Cute At the Last Minute Against the Packers

Jeff Hafley's defense came out playing with their hair on fire in the first half against the Chicago Bears on Sunday. However, in the second half, Ben Johnson's offense made adjustments and found great success in the run game.

In the biggest moment of the afternoon, on a fourth-and-one with the game hanging in the balance, Johnson got too cute instead of sticking with what was working. It helped in sealing the win for the Green Bay Packers.

Chicago entered the fourth quarter down 21-14 at Lambeau Field. Throughout a 17-play, 83-yard drive that drained over eight minutes off the clock and resulted in a game-tying touchdown, the Bears leaned on a run game that began the day as the second-best in the NFL.

The drive that tied the game started with runs of six yards and three yards from D'Andre Swift, followed by Kyle Monangai's back-to-back nine-yard runs. Caleb Williams was sprinkled in an incomplete pass before Chicago went right back to the run, with back-to-back runs of seven yards each by Swift.

Green Bay's defense was gassed. Chicago's offense was controlling the clock and the rhythm of the game in the second half, in large part due to the ground game.

In the second half, the Bears had zero negative run plays and just one that went for no gain. That was the play right before the fourth-and-one, a rush of no gain by Monangai. When taking a second look at the design, Chicago’s offensive line didn't necessarily falter; Green Bay defensive end Kingsley Enagbare just made an incredible play.

Why, then, when only needing one yard to move the sticks and get closer to the end zone with two timeouts in their back pocket, did Johnson and the Bears go to the air?

Johnson just got too cute.

Even if the Packers sold out to run (which they didn't), that was a unit running on fumes after Chicago's offensive line consistently moved them at the point of attack in the final two quarters. Instead, Johnson went to a play that looked eerily similar to one the Bears ran the week prior in Philadelphia that went for a touchdown from Williams to Cole Kmet.

This time, the Packers used a timeout right before the snap, seemingly to go over the look Chicago had presented. When the Bears came back out, they fed right into what Green Bay was expecting. Cornerback Keisean Nixon floated away from his assignment on D.J. Moore, who ended up being wide open underneath. Williams went to Kmet, and Nixon read it like a book, cut underneath, and secured the interception to help Green Bay leapfrog Chicago in the standings.

Interestingly enough, when asked about the call after the game, Johnson and

Kmet initially looked open, just like he did against the Philadelphia Eagles. Had Kmet beelined towards the pylon and Williams led his pass towards that spot, it may have gone for six. Instead, Williams lofted a pass far earlier in the process, and Nixon got to his spot to make a play. Per Williams:

This wasn't an offense having some success on the ground in the second half. It was an offense completely gashing a wounded Green Bay interior on the defensive line. This wasn't a fourth-and-two or a fourth-and-three, where Johnson has shown he'll still consider the run. The Bears needed one paltry yard. And, in a game with so much on the line, Johnson went for the style points. He went for the "gotcha" moment to try to show his genius in a big spot. It worked two weeks ago against the Eagles … but not against the Packers, not this time.

One play doesn't necessarily win or lose a game filled with so many pivotal moments. In that spot on Sunday, though, Johnson couldn't get out of his own way, and it helped Green Bay get to first place in the NFC North.