CHICAGO — You weren’t expecting this, were you, Chicago?A play-caller controversy coming out of the Bears’ preseason opener? With offensive mastermind Ben Johnson putting wide receivers coach and assistant head coach Antwaan Randle El in charge of the call sheet for Saturday afternoon’s second half? Well, here we are — with a lot to discuss after the Bears’ 34-10 trouncing of the Cleveland Browns at Soldier Field.We’re kidding, of course. About the controversy that is. But there wasn’t much to laugh at in the results Randle El’s offensive play calling produced — 235 yards,12 first downs and 24 points after halftime.“Has anybody ever had a better first outing than Antwaan Randle El?” quarterback Tyson Bagent wondered aloud after observing that second-half eruption. “That’s just who he is. He’s always prepared. He knows the ins and outs of the playbook. So really, it was not surprising — at least for us on the sideline.”Caleb Williams ready to take his game to the next level?Derrik KlassenJohnson had his own commendation for Randle El and the way he so quickly synced up with quarterbacks Case Keenum and Miller Moss.“He did a phenomenal job,” Johnson said. “He was part of the quarterbacks’ meeting (Friday) night and we were talking about what was on the call sheet and their favorites and all that. I think it was a phenomenal experience for him. I know our guys really rallied around that.”Yep, this is some of the fun that comes to life on August weekends where it’s not just the players fighting for bigger roles and putting together resumes. Randle El, just two days shy of his 47th birthday, leaned into his mini-audition and performed, plucking from the playbook and communicating his calls to Johnson, who then let the quarterbacks know what was ordered.So what stood out Saturday?Bears wide receivers coach and assistant head coach Antwaan Randle El called plays in the second half Saturday when the offense produced 24 points. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)“For one, he liked to throw it,” said Keenum, who passed for 169 yards with two touchdowns across three drives. “He told us he would. And that was when the forecast called for a ton of rain. Which I don’t mind. I like that. We know where we’re cutting. They don’t.“But it felt comfortable. I felt like I knew what he was trying to get. We call it ‘play caller’s intent.’ And he did a great job of, whatever the situation was, feeling it out and getting to a play that gave us a good chance.”The Bears’ longest play Saturday: a 49-yard Keenum touchdown pass to running back Salvon Ahmed early in the third quarter. That was a screen play with the football caught 7 yards behind the line of scrimmage. Yet there was plenty of beauty folded into the entire sequence, particularly with some of the clunkiness that has occurred in the Bears’ screen concepts during training camp.For starters, Keenum did his part, calmly lofting his pass over the top of defensive end Adin Huntington. And the Bears’ blockers were on it, too, with linemen Wesley French, Caden Barnett, Logan Jones and Mason Murphy all getting into space ahead of the play.Receiver Kaden Davis, meanwhile, who began the play with the role of clearing his defender out, ended up delivering a key downfield block.Ahmed, though, did the hardest work with a combination of vision, burst and instinct, cutting across the field near the 30 and outrunning Browns linebacker Edefuan Ulofoshio to the south end zone.Said Johnson: “We always talk to those screen runners that when they get the ball in their hands, try to get vertical for a few steps. And then it turns into a punt return after that. That’s certainly what that one looked like as he was taking it across the field.”Added Keenum: “Those cutbacks, crosscourt, when you have a guy like that with speed and the vision for that are (huge).”Keenum made sure to let his fellow quarterbacks know he had recorded an explosive touchdown pass.“You go home and you’re able to tell your wife and kids that you threw a 50-yard touchdown,” Bagent said. “It all counts as yards.”Again, it’s mid-August. The significance of the on-field product in the preseason — with so many reserves and roster hopefuls playing for both teams — must always have the proper context frame around it. And that will remain the case as the Bears’ coaches and front-office evaluators zero in on a day of production that included a pair of sacks from defensive end Jamree Kromah, two interceptions from cornerback Beanie Bishop and 88 receiving yards from Davis.Johnson had another number stat circled on his notes — just two penalties Saturday, a defensive holding foul against rookie Malik Muhammad and a false start by tight end Qadir Ismail.“We haven’t had a practice yet where we have had that few fouls,” Johnson said. “That was encouraging to see.”Randle El’s comfort behind the wheel was also encouraging. Now in his eighth season as an NFL assistant coach and with his nine-season playing career to draw on, Randle El has aspirations of continuing to climb the ladder. And Johnson was emphatic Saturday afternoon in voicing his belief that the Bears’ receivers coach has all the ability in the world to become a coordinator or an eventual head coach.To that latter possibility, Keenum has few doubts, drawn to Randle El’s library of knowledge, his mastery of Johnson’s offense and his ability to relay that to players.“I know he’s going to be a head coach,” Keenum said. “I think his demeanor in front of the team, his leadership qualities are top-notch. Some of the best I’ve been around. His relatability to players? I mean, it’s the fact that he’s been there, done that with just about everything. And there’s no, for lack of a better word, coachspeak to him. It’s all real.”That includes Saturday’s results.