Lions quietly hold a hidden advantage over Ben Johnson's Bears in Week 2

The Detroit Lions experienced turnover this offseason, but not with their player roster. Because of how successful they were in the regular season - especially with their offense scoring the most points per game in the league in 2024 and their defense still being solid despite so many injuries - coaches were poached.

It's just the nature of the business. And, you can't wrong any coach for taking the opportunity to take the leap from coordinator to head coach if they feel ready for it. No two other coaches were more prepared for that leap than Aaron Glenn and Ben Johnson this offseason. Glenn is now the head coach for the New York Jets and no longer a real concern for the NFC Lions.

However, Johnson decided to really stir the pot by accepting the head coaching position for the Chicago Bears - a direct Lions rival. They will face off for the first time in Week 2 in a homecoming for Johnson, as the Bears look to topple Detroit at Ford Field.

It'll be a tall order for Johnson, though, when considering the major advantage that the Lions have over him in this contest: with a brand new offensive and defensive coordinator team, Johnson likely has no idea what the team is going to be throwing at Caleb Williams or the Bears' defense during that contest.

Lions have advantage over Johnson for Week 2 matchup

Lions OC John Morton told reporters that he didn't really plan on changing much in the playbook for Detroit in 2025 because of the success the team saw with the playbook from last year. It makes sense to say this publicly - no one wants to hear that the new offensive coordinator is potentially throwing cold water on what was working swimmingly for the team.

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But, obviously, the team will have some plays prepared for Johnson that he won't be familiar with defending against. At least, that's the hope. Johnson is going to be fully removed from Detroit, and the team has to take advantage of their new minds at coordinator in order to throw him off his game. It's likely Chicago hired him for at least the purpose of knowing how to dismantle the Lions' gameplanning.

Dan Campbell is probably chomping at the bit regarding this game. The chance to prove that he can keep winning with Detroit without a great mind like Johnson in the wings is too great for Campbell to not be fired up for, so expect some wild Campbell calls to be at an all-time high in this contest as a means of really throwing everything at the wall versus Johnson.

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