It’s not every day that an NFL head coach dismisses a seemingly positive statistic. However, Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson isn’t your typical coach. He’s an offensive mad scientist who calls some of the most intriguing plays in football. Why? He wants his offense to produce big plays however they come, even if that means possessing the ball much less.
Chicago leads the NFL in time of possession, but Johnson has made it abundantly clear that he prioritizes explosive plays over holding the ball. As long as his offense generates big plays at a high rate, time of possession means little to him.
“I’ve never been one for the time of possession stat. I don’t know that that really equates to winning and losing, necessarily. And yet when you look up, we were possessing the ball more than our opponent more often than not,” Johnson said. “We really talk more about getting explosive plays. I would rather have a one-play drive for a touchdown than a 10-play drive for a touchdown. But the ability to stay efficient, stay on schedule, I think that’s something that good offenses show that they can do.”
How Do Big Plays Correlate With Wins Compared to Time of Possession?
There’s no doubt that big plays can increase a team’s chances of winning. One way to measure their impact is through expected points added (EPA), which helps quantify how much a play changes a team’s scoring outlook. EPA can help evaluate explosive production, while success rate offers a complementary measure of offensive efficiency. Johnson’s emphasis on EPA and explosive plays makes sense when evaluating offensive performance.
Of the 10 teams with the highest offensive EPA in 2025, six made the playoffs. That suggests a strong relationship between offensive production and postseason success. Chicago ranked eighth in overall offensive EPA last season, while New England ranked first. The Patriots, of course, advanced to the Super Bowl. The defending champion Seahawks, whom the Bears face in Week 8, ranked 14th in overall EPA in 2025.
However, time of possession can also correlate with success. Of the 10 teams that averaged the most time of possession in 2025, seven made the playoffs. That’s a slightly better postseason rate than the top 10 offensive EPA teams, although the difference is small. The two Super Bowl teams also performed well in this category, with the Patriots ranking fifth and the Seahawks ranking 11th.
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This is only a surface-level evaluation of these metrics, and a deeper analysis could reveal more about Johnson’s offensive philosophy. Still, the biggest takeaway is that both explosive plays and time of possession can contribute to winning football. After all, the teams that reached the Super Bowl last season ranked in the top half of the league in both categories.
Ultimately, Johnson doesn’t need to choose between explosive plays and sustained drives. But he wants an offense capable of both. One that can score quickly when opportunities arise while remaining efficient enough to extend drives when necessary.
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