The Coaching Matchup I Want to See Most in the NFL Playoffs

As we get closer and closer to the end of the NFL regular season, it also means we are obviously getting closer to the NFL playoffs. Earlier this season, I wrote an article about playoff matchups I really wanted to see. But as I start to think more about the potential teams and the teams it looks like we will be getting in the postseason in January, there is one potential matchup that really intrigues me. And it is not because of the players on the field. It is because of the coaching matchup.

That matchup would be between the Seattle Seahawks and the Chicago Bears, specifically between their head coaches Ben Johnson and Mike Macdonald. I really do think both of these teams are pretty even. I think they can both be explosive offensively when they need to be, and they both have defenses that are able to turn the ball over.

I think the Seahawks defense is much better than the Bears defense, but both teams are capable of capitalizing on turnovers. On the Bears side of why this matchup intrigues me so much is because of Ben Johnson. He has been touted as this great offensive mind for years. He was very specific and selective about which coaching job he wanted to take, and he ultimately chose the Chicago Bears job. He has more than lived up to the hype.

The way he has developed Caleb Williams this season into one of the better quarterbacks in the NFL has been impressive. Williams has been great late in games, and Johnson is excellent at scheming things up offensively. We saw this during Johnson’s time in Detroit, and even now in Chicago, the way he has transformed that offense in just one year has been remarkable.

On the other side, you have Mike Macdonald in Seattle. He is arguably the best defensive mind in football right now. I do not think that is an exaggeration. You could bring up names like Robert Saleh, but I really do think it is Macdonald, and I do not think it is particularly close at the moment.

Since he took over the Seahawks, he has transformed a unit that struggled under Pete Carroll for many years into one of the best overall defenses we have seen in the NFL over the last decade. That is not an exaggeration. Go look at the numbers. The Seahawks defense is one of the premier units in the league today.

Seeing how these two coaches would go at each other from an X’s and O’s standpoint is what excites me the most. The way mismatches would be created, the way adjustments would be made, and how it would feel like a chess match between two elite minds is what I love about football. Coaching matchups are such a huge part of the game. It is about preparation, anticipation, and countering what you expect to see from your opponent.

The contrast between Johnson and Macdonald and the way they would face off, would be outstanding. I think it would lead to elite play on the field. It would be one of the more interesting and high level coaching matchups we have seen in recent NFL playoff history.

Watching how Johnson would attack Seattle’s defense, and how Macdonald would attack Chicago’s offense, would be superb television. I know this is deep football nerd territory, but that is what makes the sport so great. The way coaches prepare, counter, and adapt is the ultimate chess match.

That is why I would absolutely love to see these two minds go head to head in January.