Ben Johnson proved in year one to be the missing piece for the Chicago Bears and left no question that the franchise made the right hiring decision. He is a respected offensive mind who pushed the Bears from a doormat in the NFC to a franchise expected to be in contention for a Super Bowl for years to come. However, no coach is perfect, and a piece of what makes Johnson so great is undeniably going to make things a bit more difficult moving forward for the franchise as well.
An example of this has emerged via Chicago Sun-Times Jason Lieser, who offered a telling quote from Johnson, “We want to be feared... It’s not, ‘Are we going to win?’ It’s, ‘How much are we going to win by?’ That’s what we live by.” This is a mindset that goes along with Johnson's earlier comments that he wants to set records and have the league's best offense.
Whether it is this or making his animosity toward Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur clear, there is a bit of Johnson that is refusing to accept anything but greatness. It is an exciting standard, but one that, being honest about is going to paint an undeniable target on the Bears that they are going to have to prove they can handle.
Johnson being so open with wanting the league's best offense and making his love of beating the Packers clear invites bulletin board material. Whether teams might admit it or not, this attitude and these quotes are going to be utilized to work against the Bears and to fire up a defense looking to make a statement or for Green Bay to embrace the role of the underdog.
Ben Johnson's greatness is painting an undeniable target on the Bears ahead of the 2026 Season
It is important to note here that this is in no way meant to discredit Johnson or underrate what the Bears will be in the 2026 season. There is every reason to believe that this roster is a potential Super Bowl contender and perhaps the best chance the conference has of stopping a loaded Los Angeles Rams' roster.
The point here isn't to discredit Johnson, but to point out the clear confidence that is both fueling the current Bears run while also making them an easy target for other teams. These are the types of comments that are going to be utilized to fire up other teams and have opposing rosters giving Chicago their best shot.
The Bears are going to have to prove they can handle this level of attention and live up to expectations, even with the road growing undeniably harder. With that said, Johnson isn't wrong to feel this way, though choosing to be so outward with his goals and expectations could easily be critiqued as the Bears are already an obvious target.
No matter your opinion on Johnson's summer comments, there is no denying the level of respect that the coach garners and the fact that the Bears have the talent to back up Johnson's words in what fans are hoping is a historic 2026 run.
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