Ben Johnson is not the sort of Bears coach who treats a rematch like a polite formality. He leans into it. He invites the noise, the risk and the attention, then asks his team to match it. That is exactly why Monday night at Soldier Field feels bigger than a normal early-season game.
The Eagles still have to live with the memory of a 24-15 loss to the Bears from Black Friday, and Johnson will not be in any hurry to let them forget it. Chicago already showed last season that this matchup can tilt its way, and Johnson’s attitude only sharpens the edge. He is not managing fear here. He is managing confidence.
That matters because this is the same coach who called several trick plays in a 47-9 Detroit Lions win over the Dallas Cowboys in 2024, which tells you plenty about how he sees football. If there is a conservative route, Johnson is usually not interested. If there is a bold one, he is far more likely to take it. John Bunting, who coached at UNC from 2001 to 2006, said of Johnson: “I never saw that.” Then he added what really matters: “But I’ll bet you his players love him. He’s that kind of guy — a great leader.”
That is the heart of the Bears-Eagles rematch. Johnson is not trying to look sensible. He is trying to look right. There is a difference. One coach plays not to make mistakes. The other plays as if the mistake is refusing to attack. Bunting’s assessment — “He’s not fearful” — fits the profile perfectly. “There are a lot of coaches who are. He’s not that way at all. He is willing to take a chance, and he’s motivated to do that. That’s part of his thought process. ‘Hey, we’re going to take chances.’”
Chicago’s results give him reason to keep trusting that edge. Last season the Bears finished 11-6 and won a playoff game. This season opened with 59 points against the Carolina Panthers, before a three-point loss to the Minnesota Vikings in Week 2. So the conversation is not about whether Johnson can get his team to score or compete. It is about whether he can keep the aggressive identity intact when the stakes rise and the opposition remembers what happened last time.
Will Caleb Williams change the plan?
That is where the quarterback situation becomes impossible to ignore. If Caleb Williams cannot play, the Bears may have to adjust again. But even that uncertainty does not change the larger point: Johnson has already shown who he is, and he is not suddenly going to become cautious because the Eagles are back on the schedule.
He has said enough already to make the tone clear. He wants more than just a Super Bowl. He wants the unbeaten, record-setting version of greatness. That is a bold standard, maybe even an uncomfortable one, but it explains everything about this matchup. The Bears are not just hosting the Eagles on Monday night. They are hosting a test of whether Johnson’s fearless style can keep forcing the league to react.
And if Philadelphia thought that 24-15 defeat was an inconvenience, Chicago is making sure it was something more than that. It was a warning.
