The Ben Johnson era for the Chicago Bears began on Monday night as expectations were high for the new head coach in his debut against the Minnesota Vikings.
Unfortunately for Bears fans, Johnson still has room to grow as he learns how to be a head coach in the NFL. He and his staff made a crucial decision that took precious seconds off the clock, and those watching the game were quick to call out the error.
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Here's why Johnson's late-game decision was criticized in his NFL head coaching debut.
Should Cairo Santos have kicked the ball out of bounds in the fourth quarter?
Chicago was ahead for most of the game, but Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy finally settled down in the fourth quarter and helped to lead three scoring drives to give Minnesota a 27-17 lead with 2:54 left. To Caleb Williams and Johnson's credit, they orchestrated a scoring drive that saw Williams connect with Rome Odunze with 2:02 left on the clock.
Chicago had one timeout and the two-minute warning to help stop the clock. Peyton Manning, his brother Eli and Vikings legend Randy Moss were watching the game on the "Manningcast" when the situation arose. Peyton started shouting that the Bears needed to kick the ball out of bounds. Bears fans on social media shared his sentiments and given the situation, if the Bears were to kick the ball out of bounds, no time would come off the clock and Minnesota would get the ball at its own 40-yard line.
MORE NFL: How J.J. McCarthy, Vikings beat the Bears in Week 1
Then when the Vikings ran their first play of the drive, the clock would have ti stop from the two-minute warning essentially give the Bears a free timeout and a chance to get the ball back on offense with enough time to score.
Manning leaned forward in his chair trying to determine the depth of the kick. On the ensuing kickoff, Chicago kicker Cairo Santos could have kicked the out of bounds either to the left or right of the field or kick it deep out of the back of the end zone for a touchback.
Manning watched in frustration as Santos decided to kick the ball deep and force a touchback but the Vikings return man caught the ball in the end zone, smartly brought it out to force the two-minute warning. While Chicago eventually got a stop, they were forced to use their timeout and only had nine seconds left to score.
MORE NFL: Grading J.J. McCarthy's rookie debut vs. Bears in Week 1
Its hard to say what would have happened had the Bears kicked the ball out of bounds. But Santos' decision likely cost the Bears an opportunity to tie or win the game.
Ben Johnson and Matt Eberflus clock management pic.twitter.com/g4reGMdFnj
— Simpsons NFL (@TheSimpsonsNFL) September 9, 2025
Johnson was asked about the final kickoff at the end of his postgame press conference.
"The intent was for the ball to go out of the end zone. We felt that if we kicked it out of the end zone, and got the three-and-out, we'd get the ball back with around 56 seconds."
Santos' leg likely wasn't strong enough to accomplish that and it led to a disappointing finish to a frustrating game for those watching at home and in the stands. The hope is that Johnson and the Bears' late-game decision making gets better as the season wears on.
But Week 1 represents much of what Bears fans were used to last year with Matt Eberflus.
Here's to hoping things change next week when the Bears face a reeling Detroit Lions team in Week 2.