Bears head coach Ben Johnson said he wants to break the NFL’s record for most points in a season in 2026.
“I want more than (the Super Bowl),” Johnson told The Athletic. “I want to have the highest-scoring offense ever, which happens to be the 2013 Denver Broncos. I know how many points per game they scored (37.9), and I want to surpass them. I want shutouts. I want blowouts.”
Toughest schedule in the league, but he wants shutouts and blowouts. Ben fits perfect in Chicago. They dream big, and underperform.
Kinda funny that he deems the points record as “more” than the Super Bowl. So, if the Bears set the regular season points record, and get blown out in the first round of the playoffs, is that a successful season, Ben?
I know people are latching on to the Super Bowl part of this, but I think the most damning part is that it shows Ben is still thinking like an offensive coach rather than a head coach.
That’s fine for fixing the offense in the first season, but I think they maxed that out last year.
The Bears had a lot of balls bounce their way last season. Not to the same extent as, say, the 2022 Vikes, but not terribly far removed from that, either.
It’ll be interesting to see how Chicagoland reacts if the Bears have a losing season and Ben is still fixated on the O.
It’s pretty obvious to me that he was clearly saying he wants more than just a Super Bowl. He wants to break the points record as well as win the Super Bowl
I know what he was saying, and it’s fundamentally wrong. There is no “more” than a Super Bowl. As a player or coach, winning a championship is the ultimate goal. Suggesting there is more than that, is wrong.
If Ben had said “I want to have the highest scoring team ever, because I believe that gets us to a Super Bowl” then sure. I’d still argue the 2013 Broncos, as mentioned, but he is setting a goal to achieve the ultimate goal. Putting the Super Bowl as “I want to win more than” shows that he would rather have the highest producing offense than he would win a championship.
Trust me, I already hate Ben Johnson. You don’t have to tie it to “well, we are just jilted Lions fans”. I actually think it was a GOOD thing the Bears had the year they had last year, because early success often reinforces bad traits. This goes for Caleb Williams as well. I want to see the Bears whole bubble not pop, I want it crushed.
No not at all is it wrong. He’s clear on what he said….he doesn’t want to just win a Super Bowl. But fanatics who obsess over players, coaches and teams will throw their spin on it and make a mountain out of a molehill
I’m of two minds here. I also believe he meant Super Bowl PLUS the best ever offense (that’s how I read it anyway).
First, it is good to have high expectations and high hopes. That is very helpful, and helps set a high standard. So, I don’t see a problem with him HAVING these lofty goals.
Second, it is another thing entirely to spout off about it to the press before you’ve even played a preseason game. I know we all kind of hate ‘coach speak,’ but the general coach-isms are good at this time of the year. You know the drill… one game at a time… constant improvement… the most important game is the next one… a lot of work to do, but we like our guys, etc. The stuff we hear every year.
There’s a lot of defensive coordinators who will want to make him choke on those words. We’ll see if he’s up to the challenge.
It’s also fine for me to say I want the Lions to absolutely destroy his head coaching career, to the put where it leaves him in tears. In public at a presser, just before he gets fired.
