The Bears lead the NFL in time of possession, but that doesn’t matter to coach Ben Johnson.
“I’ve never been one for time-of-possession stats. I don’t know that that really equates to winning and losing, necessarily. And yet when you look up, we had more possession than our opponent more often than not,” Johnson said.
The Bears’ average time of possession of 35:30 per 60-minute game is the highest in the NFL, they have run 505 offensive plays this season, which is the most of any team, and they are the only team averaging more than 70 offensive plays per game. Johnson said he thinks about how much time moves affect players, both offensively and defensively, but that ultimately he’s happier when his offense scores quickly rather than slowly.
“It’s not something we emphasize,” Johnson said. “We really talk more about getting explosive plays. I’d rather have a one-play drive for a touchdown than a 10-play drive for a touchdown. But the ability to stay efficient, to stay on schedule, I think that’s something that good offenses show they can do.”
The Bears have shown they are a good offense, even if they sometimes take longer to get into the end zone than Johnson would like.
