Ben Johnson’s standout playcall rose above the noise in Bears-49ers shootout

Chicago Bears offensive coordinator Ben Johnson received a pointed piece of credit for the way he managed one of the most memorable nights of the 2025 NFL season. A Yahoo Sports breakdown pointed to Johnson’s best playcall of the year, tying it to the Bears’ Sunday Night Football matchup against the San Francisco 49ers on December 28, 2025.

That game, played under the national spotlight, fit the bill of a high-variance classic. The matchup featured five ties as both offenses traded momentum, and it generated 80 combined points. It also produced 936 total offensive yards, a number that speaks to sustained production and frequent chances for both teams to impact the game’s rhythm.

The central emphasis from the season review was not that the Bears had a single answer to every problem, but that Johnson’s call on the day represented a kind of offensive polish that could be easy to miss when the score swings and big-play sequences stack up. In other words, while the contest’s volume of scoring and yardage dominated the headlines, Johnson’s decision-making and the particular call itself were highlighted as the most telling coaching moment of his year.

Johnson’s role matters in the Bears’ offense because he is responsible for translating personnel strengths into game-plan execution, selecting concepts, and calling plays in real time against a strong opponent’s adjustments. Against a 49ers defense that typically stresses preparation and discipline, the Bears’ ability to keep the game moving offensively required more than isolated big plays. It required consistent decision-making at the play level, especially in a contest that never settled into a long stretch of one-way control.

The context of the game also helps explain why this kind of evaluation can happen after the fact. With five ties, the Bears and 49ers repeatedly reset the game’s balance, meaning late or mid-game calls could carry different weight depending on which sequence broke the pattern at the time. A “best call” label, in that setting, generally reflects how a particular moment fit the larger story, including timing and tactical clarity, rather than simply adding to the box-score totals.

For Bears fans and evaluators, the takeaway is less about chasing one highlight and more about how the Bears’ offensive identity can show up in pressure environments. If Johnson’s sharpest call of 2025 came in an environment defined by ties, scoring, and yardage, it suggests a playcaller capable of producing in high-leverage stretches, even when the game is moving quickly and opponents are making adjustments.

What to watch next is whether the Bears can keep translating that kind of playcalling into consistent results across more games, not just the ones that turn into offensive spectacles. Johnson’s best-call reputation for 2025 sets a standard, but it also raises the question of how often the offense can create the same level of clarity when the score is tighter and the rhythm is harder to establish.