Jaylon Johnson and Kevin Byard both seemingly realized something as they answered questions at Halas Hall earlier this week.

The Chicago Bears had pulled off a thrilling comeback to beat the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Wild Card. Now they started preparing for Sunday’s NFC divisional matchup against the Los Angeles Rams, one of the NFL’s most potent offenses.

As Johnson and Byard each answered separate questions about how to stop the Rams’ offense led by head coach Sean McVay, they each realized something familiar. A lot of what they have to watch out for against McVay was similar to what they’ve faced going against Bears head coach Ben Johnson’s offense since the start of training camp.

“I think his run game is unique, kind of almost similar to [San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle] Shanahan and also even Ben, where they’re doing so much as far as their personnel, moving them around a lot of different places, and they’re creating angles in the run game, but also getting your eyes kind of off ...” Byard said at the podium at Halas Hall in Lake Forest on Wednesday. “But then also just with the pass game, the different versatility of [wide receiver] Puka [Nacua], lining Davante Adams in a lot of different places, and also using tight ends. I think Ben’s kind of been doing this all year.”

Jaylon Johnson noticed the same thing not too long later.

“It’s kind of the same with Ben Johnson, the same with Kyle Shanahan,” Jaylon Johnson said. “They kind of all have those same issues they create with a lot of motions, a lot of funky formations and even personnel groups.”

Even if the offenses aren’t entirely the same, the Bears are hoping they can replicate the success McVay and the Rams have had since he took over in 2017.

Los Angeles was at the start of the trend of hiring the talented young offensive play caller when it hired McVay when he was 30 years old. He became the youngest coach hired in the NFL. It came at the same time when San Francisco hired a young offensive coordinator in Shanahan, though he was 37 at the time.

McVay quickly became known as one of the brightest and transformative offensive minds in the NFL. Just like Jaylon Johnson and Byard described, McVay used innovative ways to facilitate dynamic passing and running attacks by incorporating motion and confusing defenders.

But McVay proved that he was more than his offensive playbook.

He rewarded the Rams’ trust immediately by leading them to the playoffs in his first season and the Super Bowl in his second. The Rams have reached the playoffs seven out of nine seasons with McVay including this season, with two trips to the Super Bowl and one championship.

“There’s no question about it, he’s on the upper echelon,” Ben Johnson said. “He’s done a phenomenal job since he got to [Los Angeles]. All of his teams are well-prepared. There’s no doubt that he’s super sharp on the offensive side, but I think how he does it as a head coach, bringing all three phases together is really critical to their success. I think he does a great job, knows how to speak to the team with the pulse of the team and get the most out of them. Yeah, there’s a reason why they’re in it damn near every year since he’s been there.”

Ben Johnson himself became one of those bright, young offensive minds in the NFL. He took over as the Detroit Lions offensive coordinator in 2022 and built up one of the NFL’s most-dynamic offenses to rival McVay’s and Shanahan’s.

But McVay had an influence in that Lions offense.

Lions quarterback Jared Goff developed in McVay’s system as the Rams’ former No. 1 overall pick. After the Rams traded Goff to Detroit in exchange for Matthew Stafford in 2021 and Ben Johnson took over play calling duties a year later, he wanted to accentuate what Goff was comfortable with from McVay’s offense in his own.

So Ben Johnson used McVay’s offensive principles as one of the pillars to his own scheme. He augmented it with some concepts he had been around as well as Lions head coach Dan Campbell to build the Lions offense.

That playbook changed when Ben Johnson came to Chicago. But he did bring over some of those principles he adopted from McVay.

“I think our system is a mesh of a few different systems ...” Bears offensive coordinator Declan Doyle said. “There are lot of similarities just in the way we both kind of conduct our offenses, the general philosophies behind it. But at the same point in time, we like to think we can morph and we can be unique week to week just depending on what the defense is gonna give us.”

That mesh turned into one of the better offenses in the league.

Chicago ranked in the top-10 during the regular season in all major offensive categories. The Bears ranked as high as No. 3 in rushing average (144.5 rushing yards per game) and No. 6 to total yards per game (369.2).

Ben Johnson’s done it by bringing out the best out of the talent he inherited and added to the roster during the offseason. Quarterback Caleb Williams took a major step in his first season with Ben Johnson as he gained more confidence in the system. It’s also led to seven fourth-quarter comebacks.

Meanwhile, Ben Johnson found ways to bring out the best in his playmakers. Running backs D’Andre Swift and rookie Kyle Monangai combined to have one of the best rushing duos in the NFL. Meanwhile wide receivers Rome Odunze, DJ Moore, rookie Luther Burden III and Olamide Zaccheaus along with tight ends Colston Loveland and Cole Kmet have all made impactful plays in the passing game in various times.

“I think what shows [Ben Johnson’s] flexibility is the ability to have one of the best offenses with a player like Jared, who’s really special, and then being able to have some similar foundational principles with Caleb, but also be able to accentuate the things that make him really unique with the athleticism, the ability to move his spot and then take advantage of their skill around it,” McVay told reporters this week. “He does a damn good job. I think he’s got a timely feel for being able to mix in some things like he did with the screen and go that allowed them to take the lead the other day. We’re excited about these challenges.”

Sunday will be the third time Ben Johnson and McVay will call offenses against each other since Ben Johnson became the play caller in Detroit.

Ben Johnson won the first matchup in their 2023 NFC Wild Card matchup when the Lions beat the Rams 24-23. He got the best of McVay a second time at the start of the 2024 season, winning 26-20.

“There’s no question about it, he’s on the upper echelon,” Ben Johnson said. “He’s done a phenomenal job since he got to [Los Angeles]. All of his teams are well-prepared. There’s no doubt that he’s super sharp on the offensive side, but I think how he does it as a head coach, bringing all three phases together is really critical to their success.”

—  Ben Johnson, Bears head coach on Sean McVay

Sunday won’t define Ben Johnson’s standing in the league or the Bears’ season. Chicago already beat expectations by reaching the NFC divisional game, winning the NFC North and earning the NFC’s No. 2 in the playoffs.

But Sunday will be a good test to see how close Johnson and the Bears are to replicating McVay’s and the Rams’ success.

“It’s going to be fun to be able to go compete against them,” Williams said. “And that team over there, they got offense, defense, and special teams. They got a bunch of really great players over there, whether it’s Hall of Fame players, whether it’s just great players in the league and also some young talent over there, it’s gonna be fun.”