New Coach, Same Bears: Ben Johnson And Cairo Santos Team Up To Mismanage The Clock In Disastrous Fashion And Blow The Bears Chance At A Comeback On MNF

Michael Reaves. Getty Images.

MNF just wrapped up as the Bears convincingly took home the W over Minnesota to begin their season. Just kidding, JJ McCarthy turned into the guy Kevin O'Connell has pretty much staked his reputation on, and led the Vikings to a great come from behind victory in Solder Field. Caleb Williams was awful in the 2nd half and Eddie is left once again baffled that the same things keep happening. 

It's a shame they wasted a great Caleb Williams game. All he can do is put the ball in a place for the receiver to catch. What more do you want from the guy? Is he supposed to throw AND catch the ball? This was a dot, that's on the ref for not finishing his route. 

But that's for the Chicago boys to dissect tomorrow. I assume right now they're doing their post game podcast recap. I gotta get something up on the blog here and for that we're going to talk about Ben Johnson. The football savant so they call him comes over from Detroit to bring much needed competence and brains to the org. Well, that was the idea at least. Instead Bears fans had to watch as their team once again botched a potential last minute comeback thanks to a disaster-class in clock management. 

Let's set the scene: the Bears cut the deficit to just three points in the 4th with 2:02 left on the clock and a timeout in their pocket. You'd think at first the move was to onside kick there, but you can't afford two seconds to come off the clock. The move is to kick it deep out of the end zone or out of bounds, preventing any sort of return that will waste the two minute warning. You MUST preserve that extra timeout. If you allow them to have a return the game essentially ends with how much time the Vikings could run off, even with a three and out. 

Instead of that plan, Cairo Santos booted the ball only halfway into the end zone, allowing Ty Chandler to take it out and waste enough time to kill the two minute warning. O'Connell was all over this, knowing how important running off those two seconds was. Game over. 

After the game Ben Johnson stated the plan was for the kickoff to go out the back of the end zone. 

Obviously Cairo Santos and his noodle leg failed in executing that plan. So 1) Cairo Santos sucks. How can you be an NFL kicker and not be able to blast that thing through the end zone? Gotta cut that guy immediately. 2) Ben Johnson doesn't know the capabilities of his kicker, which feels like a problem. 

What's even more confusing is that a touchback with the new rules brings the ball out to the 35 yard line. Kicking the ball out of bounds for a penalty puts the ball on the 40. And I researched quick to see what your options are on a kick off out bounds. You cannot make them re-kick, only take it from where it went out of bounds or 25 yards from the spot of the kickoff. 

(NFL Rulebook) The receiving team may elect to take possession of the ball 25 yards from the spot of the kick at the inbounds line on the side of the field where the ball went out of bounds or lands or is touched short of the landing zone, at the out of bounds spot, or at the spot where the ball lands or is touched in advance of the front yard line of the landing zone if less than 25 yards.

So that gamble on Santos being able to reach the back of the end zone was all over 5 yards of field position. Field position that didn't come close to being more important than the game clock. Those 40 seconds vanishing off the clock virtually ended the game and left you with only a prayer lateral play from your own 20. Awesome play call there by Ben to snap the ball at DJ Moore's knee while he ran by in motion. That's the good stuff. Different coaches, same Bears. Gotta love 'em. 

P.S. Think about this. On Friday the Chiefs executed that fire drill FG play to perfection to steal three points at the end of the half. Last night the Bills handle the game winning field goal with the clock running down with no issues at all. The Bears can't even kick the ball out of bounds properly. It's crazy some of these teams play the same sport. Only the Bears, man.