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Lions had no love for Ben Johnson during postgame handshakes

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Grey Papke | Last updated Sep 16, 2025 3:59 PM ET

Chicago Bears coach Ben Johnson drew attention this week for his interactions — or lack thereof — with the Detroit Lions following Sunday’s blowout loss.

The Lions blew out their former offensive coordinator 52-21 Sunday at Ford Field in Detroit, Mi. As their offense often did under Johnson, the Lions remained aggressive late in the game, and even punched in another touchdown on 4th and goal with 7:58 left, even though the outcome of the game was not in any doubt.

Video emerged on social media after the game showing Johnson during the traditional postgame handshakes. He briefly shook hands with Lions coach Dan Campbell, and also briefly interacted with quarterback Jared Goff. After that, however, Johnson bolted straight to the locker room, with neither he nor the rest of the Lions seemingly interested in exchanging pleasantries.

QUICK handshakes leaving the field (ig/will189) pic.twitter.com/0zA6c1uiH4
— Champagne Athletics (@champletics) September 16, 2025

Some questioned whether this is a sign of lingering bitterness among some of the Lions about Johnson’s decision to leave and coach for a division rival. More realistically, Johnson probably did not want to pal around with his former players after a 31-point loss. Beyond being a bad look, he wasn’t in the mood, as demonstrated by a testy exchange he had during his postgame press conference.

Johnson was credited with a lot of the Lions’ offensive innovations after he became the team’s offensive coordinator in 2022. The flipside is the Lions were tired of hearing about that in the leadup to the game. Even if there is no bad blood here, both sides had ample reasons to avoid engaging too much after this one.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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