A child playcaller? The Bears' Ben Johnson was born for this - ESPN

During the quarterback meeting the night before the Chicago Bears hosted the Philadelphia Eagles on Sept. 29, backup QB Case Keenum probed coach Ben Johnson over a play he wasn't certain would work.

Keenum, the 38-year-old journeyman who was starting in place of the injured Caleb Williams, was keen on everything about the play from the route to the protection, and particularly how it was designed, but he had reservations.

«It was a play Ben was very high on, and I loved it too, but I had some questions about it,» Keenum said. «I don't want to say he talked me into it [that] night, but he assured me that it would be a good play. And, golly, he called it at the perfect time.»

With a fresh set of downs at Philadelphia's 41-yard line and 5:55 on the clock in the third quarter, the Bears got a different look after the ball was snapped from what they had anticipated.

That's when Johnson's virtuosity as a play designer appeared.

The play was designed to allow the primary receiver to change in a matter of seconds based on the coverage. As he took off from the slot, Kalif Raymond realized quickly that he had become the primary, and the ball was coming his way.

As Eagles defenders vacated the middle of the field to cover three intermediate routes, Keenum fired a pass into an opening over the middle, where he found Raymond wide open. The catch-and-run opportunity ended with a 41-yard touchdown as the Bears went on to record a 27-7 rout.

Those real-time adjustments that Johnson builds into his play designs are something players have come to appreciate. It's what separates him as a playcaller. It's what makes this Bears offense so dangerous.

«The cool part about Ben is he doesn't design plays within the box,» Raymond said. «He'll