Former Chicago Bear Kevin Byard may not be prepared for everything his old head coach will bring to this week’s edition of Thursday Night Football, but he has a pretty good idea of how Ben Johnson will approach the Week 7 game against the Patriots.
“I can almost guarantee you, this Thursday night game, Ben Johnson is going to have some tricks up his sleeve,” the former Bears captain said in the locker room this week. “It’s a prime-time game. He’s going to want to show off his great plays and expertise. [I’m] definitely looking forward to that.”
Byard spent two seasons with the Chicago Bears, earning All-Pro honors in 2025, before signing with the Patriots in free agency. He quickly commanded the room of New England’s talented defensive backs and was named a captain at the end of the summer.
He’s become a key voice from the Patriots locker room when speaking with media during the week, and he didn’t hold back when he was peppered with more questions about his old stomping grounds. Byard steered the conversation away from how the former offensive coordinator wunderkind-turned-head-coach will draw up plays through the air.
“Ben Johnson wants to run the ball. As much as people talk about his pass game, and Caleb [Williams], and all this other stuff, his number one philosophy is run the football,” he said. “Training camp last year, and I’m pretty sure training camp this year, we had live practices because he wants to be the most physical team in the league.”
Johnson’s so-called number one philosophy has paid off in creating the NFL’s number one rushing team. The Bears lead the way with an average of over 160 rushing yards per game this season.
“Out of any personnel group they dress up the run. A lot of eye poison to get guys out of position. They trust their running backs,” he said.
“They’re going to run behind Darnell Wright, that’s who they believe in,” he added.
On the other side, the Patriots have the 9th-best rushing defense through the year’s first six games. They allowed the Jets 97 yards on the ground, and held them to just a 3.6 yards per attempt average.
Byard said in addition to fundamentals, the defense can improve on their tackling from that game. He highlighted his own three missed tackles.
“I pride myself on being a really good tackler, and I didn’t make enough tackles in the back end. I made some, but I didn’t make the ones that I needed to, so I think that’s what it’s going to be – especially for their run game,” he said. “They’re going to run the ball until you stop them. I guarantee you, that’s what Ben Johnson’s saying in his meeting today, yesterday, whatever it may be.”
“This is going to be one of those ‘drop the gloves’ games in hockey. Let’s drop the gloves, let’s go out there and fight,” he said.
