When he was the offensive coordinator for the Lions, Ben Johnson became famous for trick plays, perhaps the most popular of which was called “Stumblebum,” in which the quarterback and running back both pretend there was a fumble in the backfield to draw the defense’s attention, only for the quarterback to throw the ball downfield.
As head coach of the Bears, Johnson called the play again today. It didn’t work.
In the second quarter today against the Raiders, Bears quarterback Caleb Williams took the snap and pretended to stumble, just as Lions quarterback Jared Goff did when they ran the play last year . But while Goff threw a touchdown on the play, Williams couldn’t find anyone open downfield and threw an incomplete pass.
The Raiders appeared not to be fooled by the play and had li