Less than 48 hours after one of the most demoralizing defeats in the forlorn history of their franchise, the Detroit Lions suffered another deflating loss.
Ben Johnson, the architect of their high-octane offense, is leaving. His destination? Chicago, home of the Bears, the NFC North rival that just hired him as head coach.
In southeast Michigan, the news was received like a gut punch to the solar plexus, sucking out the last bit of air that remained from the knockout blow the Washington Commanders delivered to the Lions in the NFC divisional round on Saturday.
While Johnson’s departure this offseason was expected, his landing spot wasn’t as easy as to foresee. There was speculation he could end up in Jacksonville with the Jaguars or in Las Vegas with the Raiders, which — in theory — would have placed Johnson out of sight and out of mind among those who live, breathe and consume Lions football.
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But now Johnson will be hovering in the near distance as a new adversary. All his clever schemes, brilliant concepts, celebrated trick plays and creative personnel maneuvers that helped trigger the Lions’ ascension over the past three seasons will be used to resurrect a familiar foe that has fallen on hard times.
Under poor stewardship, the Bears have become perennial losers while tumbling toward the bottom of the conference.
They haven’t had a winning record since 2018, and Johnson’s four most recent predecessors either have failed to achieve success or have been unable to sustain it beyond one season, leaving the organization a laughingstock due in part to its coaching ineptitude.
This past fall, the Bears lost games in the most ridiculous ways, including a last-second Hail Mary by Washington, a potential game-winning field goal blocked by Green Bay and, finally, letting time run out during their final drive in a 23-20 defeat to the Lions on Thanksgiving Day. The clock management fiasco led to the firing of Matt Eberflus 24 hours later, which created the opening for Johnson.
Johnson, unlike Eberflus, oozes competence.
In Chicago, he will have access to $66 million in projected cap space, a top-10 pick in April’s draft and a roster that includes a solid defensive core as well as several intriguing offensive pieces. Caleb Williams, the 2024 No. 1 overall choice who struggled in his first year as the Bears’ starting quarterback, is there. So is a talented receiving corps that features DJ Moore and Rome Odunze. Then there is D’Andre Swift, the versatile former Lions running back who worked under Johnson in his first season as a coordinator. With Johnson calling the shots, there is reason to believe the Bears could take a great leap forward after they averaged 18.3 points per game to rank 28th in scoring this past season.
That should send shivers through the rest of the NFC North, which was already the most competitive division in the NFL this season. The Lions, Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers all won at least 11 games and made the playoffs. The Bears were the outlier, an abject mess with no apparent compass.
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But now Johnson is coming to guide them in the right direction, and he’s bringing with him proprietary knowledge of the coveted recipe he helped concoct in Detroit.
The thought of Johnson using that formula of success against the Lions twice each season must be difficult to accept for the organization that set him on course to get the Bears job.
It must be especially hard in wake of the playoff loss that prevented Johnson and the Lions from completing their Super Bowl quest together before the inevitable day arrived when they parted ways.
Contact Rainer Sabin at [email protected]. Follow him @RainerSabin on X
