Mike Sainristil Chicago BearsJunfu Han/USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

If not for a rookie from Michigan playing his best game at Ford Field, Ben Johnson may not be the head coach of the Chicago Bears. And according to analyst Sam Monson, Mike Sainristil’s clutch interception wasn’t Johnson’s fault.

“Justice for Ben Johnson. That was not a dumb playcall. That was a smart playcall that got hosed because Sainristil didn’t bite,” Monson said Monday on the Check the Mic podcast.

Down 38-28 with just over 12 minutes remaining in the Lions’ loss to Washington, Johnson called his second trick play. But unlike his razzle-dazzle call in the third quarter that shocked Tom Brady, this one crushed Detroit. On first-and-10, Jared Goff took the snap and faked a toss to Jahmyr Gibbs, who dished to Amon-Ra St. Brown. Then, with the Lions’ season on the line, St. Brown handed off on a reverse to Jameson Williams. The young wide receiver launched a terribly underthrown pass toward Gibbs, and Sainristil secured his second interception of the game.

Monson avoids labeling trick plays as bad calls simply because they don’t work. Instead, he said what makes a great play-caller is the ability to layer calls related to each other.

“Are you able to set something up early in the game and come back to it later in the game,” he said, “and that play succeeds because of the thing you played in the first quarter or the second quarter? So, this is an example of that. Ben Johnson with his bag of tricks, we never run out, it’s as deep as you want, sets up a play early in the game.

“The people that only care about the results, ‘Well, that one was a good play.’ No, not only was it a good play called because it scored, it was a good play called because it set up this play later in the game, where you get to show them a very similar play that actually had an extra layer of disguise.”

Sainristil’s interception on that play led to another Washington touchdown in the Commanders’ 45-31 win. The rookie and his Commanders teammates are preparing for Sunday’s NFC Championship in Philadelphia (3 p.m. ET, FOX). Johnson, meanwhile, is working on his coaching staff and preparing for his formal introduction with the Bears.

For more information on the Commanders, Bears and Lions, visit the Washington, Chicago and Detroit team pages. Also check out the Coach/GM Carousel page at ProFootballPost.com.


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By Zak Gilbert

Since his freshman year at the University of Colorado, Zak Gilbert has worked 30 years in sports, including 18 NFL seasons. He's spent time with four NFL teams, serving as head of communications for both the Raiders and Browns. A veteran of nine Super Bowls, he most recently worked six seasons in the NFL's New York league office.

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