New head coach Ben Johnson is expected to bring his explosive level of offense to the Chicago Bears in 2025 and beyond. However, during the 2024, Johnson was working his magic as the Detroit Lions offensive coordinator.
In Week 16, the Bears took on the Lions in their second matchup of the season, falling 34-17. With Detroit leading 27-14 entering the third quarter, and up 20-0 in the second, Johnson decided to dial up a trick play. It was aptly named “Stumblebum.” Both quarterback Jared Goff and running back Jahmyr Gibbs appeared to stumble as the entire offensive line was yelling fumble.
But it was all a fake, as Goff was simply playing possum and found tight end Sam LaPorta for a 21-yard touchdown pass. While the Bears would add a field goal, the trick play touchdown was the final nail in Chicago’s coffin.
In Netflix’s new special, ‘Quarterback,’ Goff goes into detail about how Stumblebum came together, h/t Ari Meirov of The 33rd Team. One interesting note is that for the play to work, the Lions knew that getting Bears linebacker TJ Edwards’ focus away from the trick was the only way to succeed.
“All we’re trying to do is get the guy who’s running with the sneaky, because it’s TJ Edwards. Who is like all over that,” Goff said. “All we’re trying to get him to do is take his off it, and then we’re going to sneak behind him.”
This is some really cool behind-the-scenes at how the #Lions’ viral fake stumble play from last season came together.
So awesome.
(via 'Quarterback' on Netflix)pic.twitter.com/LrojhLVh8d
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) July 10, 2025
After the play was done, Goff was impressed with how the play worked against at Edwards.
“Look at 53, his eyes are on me,” Goff said. “Sam’s running right by him.”
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Johnson originally got the idea for the play after watching Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love do something similar to the Bears. While he actually fumbled the snap, he was able to recover and fight tight end Luke Musgrave was a massive gain. Johnson thought he could do the same with Goff.
“That was a Ben special,” Goff said. “He came up with that one.”
Johnson had Goff in his office and showed him the Love fumble play. After asking if he thought the quarterback could do something similar, they began to implement it into their offense. It from actually fumbling to fake falling, to the running back falling, to the offensive line getting involved. It was a full fledged trick play effort. But it worked, not only sealing the victory, but giving Goff his career-high 33 touchdown pass.
While the Bears were victims to Johnson’s fake fumble trickery, Chicago is hoping Johnson has a few more plays up his sleeve once the offense finds its foundation.
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