Coaching Analysis · Chicago Bears

Randle El's Play-Calling Audition Was the Real Preseason Win

Chicago beat Cleveland 34-10 after Antwaan Randle El called the second half. The useful result was a clean delegation test, not a verdict on the regular-season offense.

By Mara EllisonAugust 18, 2026Updated August 184 min read

The most useful handoff happened on the headset

The Chicago Bears beat the Cleveland Browns 34-10 in a preseason game Saturday. The score will soon join the large museum of August results nobody can identify by October. The more durable event happened after halftime, when assistant head coach and wide receivers coach Antwaan Randle El took over the offensive play-calling and Chicago continued to function.

That was not a gimmick disguised as staff development. A coaching operation needs redundancy just as an offensive line does. Ben Johnson can remain the primary caller while learning whether another coach can organize personnel, sequence concepts and communicate through the compressed rhythm of a game. The Bears used low-stakes snaps to test a high-value contingency.

The second half gave Randle El favorable material. Veteran quarterback Case Keenum completed nine of 10 passes for 151 yards, threw two touchdowns and finished with a perfect 158.3 passer rating. Clean execution against the back of a preseason roster does not predict January. It does show that the instructions reached the huddle intact.

Delegation should make the offense clearer, not cuter

Randle El's assignment mattered because play-calling is more than selecting a clever square from a laminated menu. The caller has to know which players are available, which concepts the quarterback can operate at that moment and what the previous snap has taught the defense. He must also deliver the choice before a 40-second clock turns strategy into cardio.

Keenum's efficiency suggests the Bears kept that process clean. A 49-yard touchdown to Salvon Ahmed began as a completion behind the line of scrimmage, then became an explosive play because the receiver had space and the offense executed around him. That is a useful coaching result: the call gave the player a manageable decision, and the surrounding structure allowed ordinary execution to grow.

The Bears should resist making the experiment ceremonial. If Randle El is going to call again, give him a different game state and personnel challenge. Let him manage a stalled series, a short field or an obvious passing down. A succession plan learns nothing when every test is arranged like a retirement-party softball pitch.

Keenum's perfect rating proves exactly what it proves

The obvious objection is that an experienced NFL quarterback should handle reserve defenders in August. Keenum's afternoon does not create a quarterback controversy, validate the starting offense or guarantee that Randle El can outmaneuver a coordinator disguising pressure in a meaningful game. The perfect rating was real. Its jurisdiction was extremely small.

Good. The Bears do not need to inflate the evidence for it to be useful. They needed to know whether a different voice could keep the operation organized and whether a veteran quarterback could translate that voice without wasted motion. Nine completions in 10 attempts provide a cleaner answer than a chaotic half rescued by two improbable throws would have.

There were other warnings against a victory lap. Chicago kicker Cairo Santos made attempts from 49 and 51 yards but missed from 50. Two interceptions by Beanie Bishop came on overthrows. Preseason football mixes repeatable execution with gifts, and every team looks prophetic when it keeps only the pleasant half of the ledger.

The next rehearsal should test recovery

Chicago's next useful step is not asking Randle El to produce another 24-point half. It is testing how the offense responds when the first sequence fails. Can the caller identify whether protection, spacing or a quarterback read caused the problem? Can he change the next call without abandoning the plan? Can the sideline communicate the correction before frustration becomes the loudest coach available?

Those are operational questions, which means they will not compete well with quarterback rankings or final scores on television. They are also the questions that keep a season from becoming dependent on one person holding a headset. Johnson gains authority, not loses it, when his staff can carry the same offensive language under pressure.

The Bears won 34-10, and everyone is allowed to enjoy an uncomplicated Saturday. The franchise should keep the narrower finding. Randle El received a live play-calling block, Keenum operated it efficiently and the offense remained recognizable after authority changed hands. In August, a successful rehearsal is more valuable than a fictional preview.

2026 season