Ben Johnson shares expectation for Bears after 'kick in the teeth' vs. Lions

It was the type of loss that the Chicago Bears will have a hard time getting anything out of. Sometimes you need to burn the tape and move on.

You got the sense when hearing him speak after the 52-21 loss to the Detroit Lions that head coach Ben Johnson was already ready to move on.

He came into Detroit looking to prove that he was more than just a great playcaller for the Lions. He was looking to prove that he was head coaching material, and he was worth the hire by Chicago.

Johnson left his old stomping grounds with a bruised and battered ego and a 0-2 record so far as a head coach hanging over his shoulders, though.

He watched his old teams put up over 50 points and 511 offensive yards on his defense while his offense (his calling card) turned the ball over twice and went 0-2 on fourth downs.

"Anytime you lose a game like that, it’s a kick in the teeth. Nothing about that feels good," Johnson said after the game, according to Coty M. Davis of The Detroit News. "These guys are hurt; it stinks."

The Chicago Bears have no choice but to move on 

Chicago is in a tough spot in the early going of Johnson's tenure with the team. He's used to play-calling with a roster made up of superstars. In Detroit, he had a competent quarterback in Jared Goff throwing the ball to players like Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams and Sam LaPorta. Behind Goff were a one-two much in running backs in Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery. 

The Bears have a very intriguing wideout talent brimming with potential in former first-round pick Rome Odunze, but DJ Moore is arguably on the wrong side of the hill, and Cole Kmet is a solid tight end, but not a star.

Johnson is missing a strong offensive line, like he had in Detroit, and at quarterback, he went from the steady and productive Goff to an exciting but inconsistent quarterback in Caleb Williams.

And let's not even get into the defensive side of the ball, where Pro Bowl cornerback Jaylon Johnson is out indefinitely. 

The point is, Johnson has his work cut out for him if he wants to turn this thing around. Week 3 at home against the Dallas Cowboys may be the Bears' best shot to get a win yet, but they now have to focus on taking that "kick in the teeth" and turning it into usable lessons.

They also have to do that in a hurry, because away games against the Las Vegas Raiders and Washington Commanders are next up on the schedule.

"The biggest thing is, we are not going to hang our heads and get down on this. It’s one game, we're going to be just fine," Johnson said. "We’ll take our corrections, coaching staff, players, we are going to learn from it, and we’ll be committed to having a great week of preparation coming up this week and finding our first win of the season. That’s all we care about."

According to FanDuel, the Bears are slight favorites against the Cowboys. Dallas is a 1.5-point underdog.