What a 19-play drive says about Bears' search for offensive identity

Quarterback Caleb Williams was praying for a pass play just so the Bears could end their grueling slog of a drive with a touchdown. Tight end Cole Kmet said, half-joking, that he blacked out after the sixth play. And receiver DJ Moore called the possession “torture,” given that he never came off the field during it.

If that was the Bears’ reaction, just think how the Cowboys felt.

“When we started getting closer and closer to the red zone, you could see they were wearing down,” Moore said.

For all that has been made of Williams throwing for four touchdowns — justifiably so, given his struggles the previous two games — the most intriguing aspect of the 31-14 victory at Soldier Field was the 19-play touchdown drive that ran almost 10 minutes off the clock, ending with a four-yard pass to Moore.

It was the longest touchdown drive in the NFL this season in number of plays, and
the Bears’ longest touchdown drive since at least 2001.

Somewhere along the way, the Bears might have found out who they want to be. Six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach Bill Belichick once said NFL teams don’t know their identity until mid-October. Sunday might have unlocked something for the Bears and first-year head coach Ben Johnson.

“It’s an identity-builder,” Kmet said.

The Bears (1-2) prepared for this approach during training camp, running long-drive drills at the ends of practices, often with sloppy results. The intent, Johnson said, was not to be perfect but to build “grit and the grind that goes into some of these games.”

“The guys dug deep for that,” Johnson said. “I know that our guys were feeling it. But there’s something about when we look across the ball and you see the opposition equally fatigued that brings out that competitive spirit. You want to finish that drive with points.”

The physical style of play jibes perfectly with Johnson’s intensity level. He didn’t like that the Cowboys had controlled time of possession by almost eight minutes in the first half. He swore, however, that he didn’t know the drive lasted 19 plays — or that he called 11 runs in a row — until after the game.

“I think it goes a long way,” he said. “We’ll do whatever it takes to score points.”

Johnson is respected around the league — and in his new locker room — for his creativity in drawing up run plays with blocking schemes customized to his opponent’s various defensive fronts. The Bears weren’t efficient on the ground Sunday, averaging three yards per carry, but Johnson kept at it.

Four of the 11 straight runs came out of shotgun, two after not huddling and one with extra blocker Theo Benedet on the field. Five different players ran the ball — D’Andre Swift six times, Williams on two read-option keepers, Moore out of the backfield, rookie wide receiver Luther Burden on a third-and-one end-around and backup Kyle Monangai for a loss of eight. It was Monangai running backward to try to escape a defender that prompted the Bears to start throwing the ball again. Three plays later, Williams found Moore for the touchdown.

“It was tiring,” Williams said. “I was hoping that [Johnson] would call a pass play so we could try and go score in the drive. But we end up running the ball well, getting that going and obviously being able to find the strike right there and score. It was awesome.”

The next step is to carry the mentality over from week to week.

“To have what seemed like a forever drive, to give them a punch in the gut there in the second half, was really good for us,” Kmet said. “And a good confidence-booster going into the rest of the season.”