CHICAGO — As the architect of the “Greatest Show on Turf” offense that fueled the St. Louis Rams’ Super Bowl 26 years ago, Mike Martz was an in-demand speaker when he retired from the NFL in 2011. For many years he worked in the teaching district, but there was one visit that made a lasting impression.
It was 2018, and Martz had been invited to the Miami Dolphins training camp by former coach Adam Gase. Dolphins coach, Ben Johnson, made sure he didn’t waste this opportunity.
The signature pass play from Martz’s offense was called the Zampese Play — a nod to one of the most innovative minds in football, the late Ernie Zampese. The Zampese Play was run 124 different ways in the Rams’ high-octane offense, and Johnson wanted to know about all the variations and how he could teach them to his position group.
“I have been asked by people [the Zampese play] a million times,” Martz told ESPN on Thursday. “He’s the only one who asked me what exactly is the quarterback doing with this and what makes him do that?
“Everybody else just throws a challenge, and they run it and they can’t figure out why it doesn’t work because they don’t know how to fix it. He wanted all the changes — how do you do this and why? We talked for an hour about that passing game.”
While other Dolphins coaches sneaked out of Johnson’s office, Martz and Johnson spent the afternoon dissecting the intricacies of the scheme. There was so much to talk about that the conversation extended to dinner at a nearby mall.
“I’ve met him a few times, and I have a lot of respect for the guy,” Johnson said. “He could talk for hours, and you were just a sponge.”
The results speak for themselves. Johnson is in his first year as head coach of the Chicago Bears, who will host the Los Angeles Rams in a divisional round game on Sunday (6:30 pm ET, NBC/Peacock). The Bears got their first playoff win in 15 years last week with a 31-27 win over the Green Bay Packers.
The Bears feature one of the most explosive offenses in the NFL. Chicago produced 127 explosive plays (defined as a rush of at least 10 yards or at least 20 completions) during the regular season. That was second-most in the NFL behind the Buffalo Bills (129).
Chicago set the franchise record for receiving yards (6,282) while second-year quarterback Caleb Williams set the team’s single-season passing record (3,942 yards).
Williams’ development in what the Bears hope is their first franchise QB in decades was just part of the equation. After general manager Ryan Poles and Johnson rebuilt the interior offensive line and drafted pass-catching weapons, the Bears’ offense defied expectations.
“They got it right,” Martz said. “He’s the best head coach they’ve ever had and the best quarterback they’ve ever had, clearly.”
Just because of A A month after the Bears hired him in January, 2025, Johnson and the front office were working on building a roster. The offensive line — especially the guard and center positions — was the No. 1 weak link.
At the February game, Johnson was asked how realistic it would be to change the interior of the offensive line in one season. He seemed to appreciate the challenge.
Caleb slips when he runs away 🎶 @ChicagoBears pic.twitter.com/RS4CnCZHmm
– Inside the NFL (@insidetheNFL) January 13, 2026
In a 24-hour span in March, the Bears traded left guard Joe Thuney and right guard Jonah Jackson and focused on spending big on Drew Dalman. Not only did Johnson deliver on his promise, the Bears checked off a big item on their to-do list in five days.
“If you look at Caleb’s first season, the number of times he was sacked (a league-high 68), that’s a tough way to live,” Johnson said. “That’s a hard way to do well when you’re hurting…
“Fixing the offensive line was a big part of our vision for how we want to build the football team this year going forward.”
The Bears had 71 plays of 20+ yards (sixth-most) compared to the 2024 season when they had 47 (28th in the league). Notably, the running game has exploded with 67 rushing attempts of 10+ yards (third-most). Last season that number was 42 (tied for 25th).
Johnson found the offense with DJ Moore and Rome Odunze, tight end Cole Kmet and running back D’Andre Swift. He and the Poles saw roles for all four players as they looked to use the draft to continue to load up on offense.
Chicago used the 10th pick on Michigan tight end Colston Loveland and returned early on Day 2 to select Missouri WR Luther Burden III with the 39th overall pick. That marked the first time in the Common Draft Era (since 1967) that the Bears drafted two pass catchers with their first two picks.
The Bears added left tackle Ozzy Trapilo in the second round and used their last pick in the seventh round on running back Kyle Monangai.
The results paid off quickly as Loveland emerged as the Bears’ leading receiver (58 catches, 713 yards, 6 TDs). In the wild card victory over Green Bay, Loveland became the first rookie tight end since 1970 to reach 100 yards receiving in a playoff game. According to Next Gen Stats, Loveland averaged 8.9 air yards per target this season, which is the fourth-highest mark among tight ends with at least 35 targets.
“We had a home run with him, and that’s something coach said to me the other day,” Williams said. “We were sitting in his office and everybody comes back at night. Why did we get Colston Loveland and why did we do this and why did we do that? It’s Colston Loveland, you know what I mean? That’s him.”
The same can be said for Burden, who is fourth on the team in receiving yards with 652. His ability as a big-play threat (13.9 yards per reception) paved the way for him to become an integral part of the passing game.
“He’s a guy that as you give him more, he takes advantage of those opportunities and it makes you want to give him more opportunities to show that,” offensive coordinator Declan Doyle said. “We loved having him as a big part of the offense.”
WILLIAMS CONFIRMED HIS The offensive line of “The Avengers,” a team of super heroes made up of their combined powers.
That team helped lower Williams’ sack total from 68 as a rookie to 24 in 2025 while giving him time to find his receivers on the ground. Chicago ranks 1st in pass block win-rate (74%) and fifth in run block win-rate (74%).
A key part of the OL’s success was allowing Williams to learn the position in Johnson’s offense. Williams was a shooting guard in high school, college and in his rookie season.
In 2024, Williams and the Bears’ offense went under center 29% of the time (16th). That number increased to 49% of (fifth) contractions by 2025. Williams’ increased drop rate (19% as a rookie, 32% in 2025) is the reason the Bears’ offense has the sixth-highest explosive play rate (15.0%) in 112.
“I think ahead of time [Johnson] he really tried to force Caleb out of his comfort zone,” Bears pass game coordinator Press Taylor said. “I would think Caleb had less than 100 games before he got to the NFL.
“We were going to expose him to all of this and make him as good as possible. If that was something he never held onto, we would have gone somewhere else for it. But that’s a credit to Caleb’s work and what he’s done and how he’s found himself to be really comfortable with what we’re asking him to do in this situation.”
Williams had 28 completions of 20+ yards (tied for fifth) after producing 20 of those passing plays as a rookie (T-14th). Of Williams’ 27 touchdowns this season, 11 were 20+ yards, the most in the NFL. As a rookie, only five of Williams’ touchdowns went for 20+ yards.
Explosive plays in the passing game were evident in the biggest moments of the season. Against Green Bay in the playoffs, the Bears totaled eight pass rushes in the fourth quarter, the most of any team in any game this season. No other team has had more than six in any playoff game since at least 2016.
The 2025 team is a departure from past Bears teams. Johnson can rely on his quarterback to win games (as evidenced by Williams’ seven game-winning drives, including the playoffs). No more Chicago offenses win despite playing at quarterback.
But the root of the explosion starts with the running game. Chicago had the second highest percentage of the high explosion this season (13.3%) with the tandem of Swift (who reached 1,087 yards and 9 TDs in one season) and Monangai.
“Coach Johnson has done a great job of strengthening the running game from day one,” said running backs coach Eric Bieniemy. “That was one of the points we emphasized the most that we wanted to be sure of, that we can run the ball, especially in the air. [frigid temps] as we will face this weekend.”
Under Johnson, the Bears have improved their offensive mentality. That is a departure from the way it was.
“They wanted to grow grass on the field for a long time, run the ball and play defense,” said Martz, who was the Bears’ OC from 2010-11. “That’s been their mantra since they started playing. It was when I was there. But they brought it up when they hired Ben.
“Now it’s open. Everything is possible.”
