Amon-Ra St. Brown Throws Playful Shade at Former Lions’ OC Ben Johnson
The Detroit Lions are expecting a rowdy environment at Ford Field for the 2025 home opener.
Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson is not going to be welcomed by the crowd, many of whom still harbor resentment he chose to leave the Lions to join a division rival.
Wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown expressed he is ready for everyone to boo Detroit's former offensive coordinator. Guest Rome Odunze indicated Johnson is ready for a passionate crowd at Ford Field.
"Week 2 is going to be so crazy, I promise you it's going to be so electric," said St. Brown on last week's episode of his podcast. ... "As soon as Ben walks in there, we're booing him. I don't give a f**k. We are all booing him."
Speaking to reporters, the Bears first-year head coach feels like environment will be playoff-like.
“Maybe (a silent count) will help this week. We’re going to need to do that and we’re going to need to be really good at that because this is going to be a loud environment that we’re going to,” Johnson told reporters on Tuesday. “This is going to be a playoff-like atmosphere. Ford Field has been something else over the last couple of years so we’re going to have to be at our best.”
Dan Campbell expressed this week he feels he is on an even playing field with Johnson, but really wants his team to hone in the fundamentals, as the Lions had far too many missed assignments against the Packers.
“I think we’re on equal playing ground really. I think it’s the same thing. He knows what we’re about, we know what he’s about and because of that you’re going to play that game a little bit," said Campbell. "But the game doesn’t matter if you don’t master the basics inside the game and so that’s what we have to get back to. We’ve got to worry about ourselves right now and just hone in on the little things.”
Despite Johnson coaching in the division, Johson and Campbell remain friends.
"No, listen, Ben’s my friend. He’s always going to be my friend," said Campbell. "But nothing about that’s going to change. We’re going in, getting ready to play Chicago, we’re going to win this game, we have to. We’ve got to find a way to clean things up and do what we’ve got to do and they’re going to try to do the same thing. It’s like every week.”
Cowboys $240 Million QB Dak Prescott Receives Shocking Week 1 Grade
The first week of the NFL regular season was an absolute movie for Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott — one that began with “Spitgate” and ended with a thrilling, 24-20 loss to the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles.
In between all of that, Prescott played his position just about as well as anyone in the NFL.
That’s why Bleacher Report’s Brent Sobleski made Prescott one of just 6 quarterbacks to receive an “A” grade or higher in Week 1 — and the only one who earned the grade despite a loss.
The Cowboys very well could have come out with the win if not for a trio of uncharacteristic drops from NFL All-Pro wide receiver CeeDee Lamb in the second half.
Prescott, who missed 9 games in 2024 with a hamstring injury, finished 21-of-34 passing for 188 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions but was also brilliant in the pocket against one of the NFL’s top defense and didn’t take a single sack.
“All of the hullabaloo aside … quarterback Dak Prescott played as well as anyone could have expected in the Dallas Cowboys’ season opener,” Sobleski wrote on September 9. “However, his teammates didn’t help as much as they should have. CeeDee Lamb is one of the league’s best wide receivers. But three official drops, not including a fourth where he could have made a diving grab, all but sealed Dallas’ defeat at the hands of the rival Eagles … Prescott just needs to keep playing the same way he did in Week 1 and good things should start to happen for the Cowboys.”
Preseason Overshadowed By Parsons Soap Opera
Prescott and every other player on the Cowboys roster faded into the background during the preseason thanks to the epic soap opera drama between former edge rusher Micah Parsons and owner Jerry Jones.
There may have been an unseen benefit for Prescott. Were the Parsons drama not to have played out like it did, there’s a world in which the entire preseason’s top storyline would have been how Prescott, the NFL’s highest paid player at $60 million per year, has continued to fail to bring his team to the next level.
By the time Parsons was traded to the Green Bay Packers on August 28, the regular season was all but upon us and all Prescott had left to do was play.
Not Considered NFL Top 10 Quarterback
If you want to know the esteem in which Prescott was held in the eyes of NFL executives, coaches and scouts headed into 2025, just take one look at ESPN’s annual preseason position rankings.
Prescott, who was NFL Most Valuable Player runner-up and an NFL All-Pro in 2023, wasn’t just completely left out of the Top 10. He was also left off one of the 2 honorable mention slots and relegated to the “others receiving votes” category.
Within his own division, Prescott is no longer even looked at as elite. Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels was named NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2024 — the same award Prescott won in 2016.
Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts capped his year by being named Super Bowl MVP after a 40-22 win over the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX.
