In Week 13, the Chicago Bears defeated the Super Bowl LIX winner, the Philadelphia Eagles, by 24-15. Yet, the head coach Ben Johnson is unsatisfied. He has tapped into the potential and believes there is still more talent on his team.

“We’re not at what we’re capable of being yet as an entire team,” Johnson told reporters during the post-game conference.

There are two major reasons Johnson made this huge claim. First, they were not playing at full capacity today as their starting linebackers were out. Linebacker Noah Sewell has played 9 games for the Bears, recording 55 tackles (31 solo). But he was out with an elbow injury.

Defensive back Tyrique Stevenson was also out with a hip injury. In 10 games, he has 46 tackles (33 solo), nine passes defended, and one interception. Similarly, defensive end Dominique Robinson has 13 tackles (10 solo) and 1.5 sacks in nine games. He missed the game because of a concussion. The Bears still did a good job stopping the Eagles on their tush push plays. Imagine the dominance if all the starters played.

The second reason is the 20 mph winds with gusts up to 40 mph from the open northwest end of the Lincoln Financial Field. It was the only reason the Bears quarterback, Caleb Williams, completed only 11 of 24 passes for ninety yards with no scores in the first half. Notably, the Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts also struggled, completing only 5 of 10 passes for 57 yards with no touchdowns in first two quarters.

However, fans remained stuck to their TV screens as the running backs from the Bears piled up plays, keeping the game full of entertainment. The head coach also gave them full credit.

Ben Johnson praises the running game for the victory

Due to their wonderful run game (47 rushes for 281 yards and two touchdowns), the Bears outpaced the Birds (17 carries for 87 rushing yards).

“Can’t say enough about that running game. I don’t think we win that game if we’re not able to run the ball like we were. Both the backs, over 100 yards, was just outstanding, the head coach said while praising his running backs. “You could feel decisiveness, you could feel them hitting it downhill. They turned on the gas and were lowering their shoulders too.”

Let’s be honest here, most fans expected running back Saquon Barkley to make big plays in Week 13. He is having below his standard games this year. In eleven games, he has 185 carries (7th in the league), 684 rushing yards (16th), and four touchdowns (25th). Instead, it was the former Eagles and current Bears’ running back Kyle Monangai who took his revenge.

He had 22 carries for 130 yards and one touchdown. His teammate and running back D’Andre Swift fully supported him with 18 carries for 125 yards and one score. The duo worked in tandem, running the game down the field at will. In the end, they won their ninth game of the season.

Both quarterbacks threw interceptions, so the passing and receiving game was not what it usually is. It came down to their run attack to carry the ball, that’s where the Bears won. With this, they moved to the second seed in the current NFC playoff picture. This turnaround became possible because of Ben Johnson’s offensive strategies. He’s having a great start to his rookie head coaching assignment.