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Lions' pathetic Week 1 effort speaks volumes about Bears' Ben Johnson

Originally posted on Chicago Bears on SI
By Pete Martuneac | Last updated Sep 7, 2025 7:43 PM ET

There's an old saying about the start of every new NFL season: Week 1 lies. It's simple and generally true. The results of Week 1 games can cause fans and analysts to draw wildly incorrect conclusions if not taken with an appropriately sized grain of salt. That's why you won't see me prognosticate doom on the Detroit Lions' playoffs hopes. However, there is genuine cause for concern based on Sunday's game.

The Lions, who have been one of the NFL's leading offenses for the past three years, came out like kitty cats against the Green Bay Packers. Just look at some of these box score numbers: thirteen total points with just one touchdown in garbage time, Jared Goff threw for only 225 yards on 39 pass attempts and finished with a meager 88.6 passer rating, and the entire running back room averaged just 2.1 yards per carry. No, that's not a typo.

Before anyone writes this off as typical Week 1 jitters, this is far from typical from what the Lions have been accustomed to. In the three years Ben Johnson served as their offensive coordinator, the Lions averaged over 27 points per game in Week 1.

Speaking of Ben Johnson, where has he run off to? That's right, he became the head coach of another Detroit rival, the Chicago Bears.

Detroit's first game since 2021 without Ben Johnson calling the offense was an unmitigated disaster and leaves a giant target on their backs. The NFC juggernaut is no more, the hunter is now the prey, and every team is going to be gunning for them. Even Johnson himself had already issued a warning for the Lions ahead of their Week 2 matchup.

As aforementioned, Week 1 lies and we can't draw sweeping conclusions from one game. However, it has to bolster the spirits of Bears fans (especially after another Caleb Williams tell-all of dubious veracity was released on Friday, causing no small amount of controversy among the fans) to see that their head coach's former team appears to be much worse off without him.

As for the Lions, they better hope that Dan Campbell was as instrumental to the offense's success as some have claimed. The way ahead looks dark otherwise, and it would be a terrible 'Groundhog Day' sort of feeling to have to be tormented by their former hero twice a year for years to come.

This article first appeared on Chicago Bears on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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