Ben Johnson Should Be Livid About These Bears-Lions Predictions
Last week was the start of the NFL season, and it’s a special filled with promise, especially for the Chicago Bears, who have a new head coach in Ben Johnson, who hails from the Detroit Lions. But, things didn’t quite go as planned for the Bears’ first game of the season. It looked as if they were on target to enjoy a fantastic win over the Minnesota Vikings on Monday, September 8, but the Vikings made a really surprising comeback and were able to pull ahead for the win.
It was a heartbreaker, and the game was at Soldier Field in Chicago, so it was in front of plenty of hometown peeps. But, it’s just the first game of the season, and there are plenty more opportunities for the Bears to come back from that loss. One of those opportunities is just ahead.
The Bears will take on the Detroit Lions on Sunday, September 14, at Ford Field. While the team fell to the Lions last season, twice, this year, quarterback Caleb Williams is already looking much better on the field, and the Bears, of course, have Johnson heading up their roster. Now, the NFL predictions are in for who will win this game.
Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions Game Predictions
The Lions lost their first game of the season to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, September 7, so they’re angry and ready to win a matchup. But, that doesn’t mean they will win. The Bears are tough competition.
In a Thursday, September 11, feature for the NFL’s website, Ali Bhanpuri, Tom Blair, Brooke Cersosimo and Dan Parr break down the Week 2 matchups and who they think will win.
For the Bears vs. Lions, they go with the Lions. They sound pretty sure about it, too.
“I know Detroit is also reeling following its miserable Week 1 at Lambeau, but I’ve seen Dan Campbell rally his crew after an L before,” Bhanpuri states in the piece. “In fact, per NFL Research, the Lions are the only team that hasn’t lost back-to-back regular-season games since 2023 and are 11-4 after a loss since 2022 (fourth-best). The wins will come for this Bears team — just maybe not this weekend.”
In ESPN’s similar piece with Week 2 predictions, Eric Woodyard notes, “The return Johnson to Detroit has been the topic of discussion all week. But Detroit is also looking to avoid going 0-2 for the first time since 2021 — Dan Campbell’s first season. In Johnson’s three years as Lions OC, he developed close ties to many of the current players, but those friendships will be put aside.”
Dan Campbell on Bears Game: ‘We’re Going to Win This Game’
Campbell, of course, was asked about the matchup against the Chicago Bears during a conference on Monday, September 8. “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,” Campbell said regarding Johnson in the conference.
He added, “We’re going in and getting ready to play Chicago. We’re going to win this game. We have to. We have to find a way to clean things up and do what we got to do. And they’re going to try to do the same thing, just like every week.”
So, both teams are out for the win. Either way, it should be a great game to watch on Sunday.
Ben Johnson’s Homecoming Sparks Turning Point for Jared Goff
If you’ve been on NFL Twitter at all in the last few days, especially if you’re a Lions fan, you’ve probably seen the stat.
Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff is now 3-17-1 in his career without either former Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson or Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay calling plays. Detroit’s offense looked anemic in their season-opening 27-13 loss to the Green Bay Packers, and Goff received the lion’s share of ridicule from social media.
And yeah, it’s a pretty damning statistic. It’s a bit shortsighted to act like wins are a quarterback stat straight-up, but a win-loss record that poor has to say something, right?
It’s what led media personalities like ESPN’s Peter Schrager to declare Johnson “already 1-0” as a head coach before the Bears even took the field. (The Bears lost in Week 1, making Johnson 0-1 as a head coach.)
After one game, Goff is already being written off as nothing more than a game manager who benefitted from ingenious playcallers that made him look better than he really is.
But let’s take a closer look at those McVay/Johnson-less starts.
Goff's Week 2 matchup against Ben Johnson has huge implications
Goff’s seven starts without McVay in Los Angeles came nearly a decade ago when he was a rookie on a 4-12 Rams team that fired its head coach in December. The 14 starts in Detroit without Johnson were from the 2021 Lions team that had an all-new coaching staff, a midseason offensive coordinator change, and a roster that was largely devoid of talent on both sides of the ball.
And that’s not to make excuses for Goff. He certainly could have played better both in 2021 and his rookie year, but it’s important to remember where those starts were within the context of his career. In 2016, he was an overwhelmed rookie on a team that had no chance at being competitive. In 2021, he was a castoff quarterback who was viewed by many as a throw-in in the Matthew Stafford deal to make the money match.
Which is to say, coordinators notwithstanding, Goff isn’t the same player as he was in 2016 or 2021. He’s evolved into one of the NFL’s smartest and most accurate quarterbacks, and has the most touchdown passes in the NFL since 2022. Of course, he still has his limitations as a creator and dealing with pressure, and his success does have lot to do with Johnson and the talent around him. It's the ultimate team sport, after all.
But still, you have to think Goff wouldn’t be able to produce at nearly that high a level if he was truly just a scrub who didn't bring anything to the table himself.
This is a big moment for Goff. If he flounders at home on Sunday and loses to his old coordinator, the narrative that he can’t win without Johnson or McVay will only grow louder. But in the building, they’re not dwelling on comparisons to last year's offense.
“I don’t feel like there is a narrative in here about anything last season,” Goff said Wednesday. “I think we’re very aware that last year we had a good year, and this year we’re 0-0 and now we’re 0-1. Very aware of the reality of that, I don’t think there’s anything from last year that comes into this year and gives you a head start. We know it starts over and we have to find a way to get a win this week.”
The whole Lions team is going to come out angry after last week and wanting to take out its frustrations on its former coordinator. But, as is typical in the NFL, the quarterback might have just a bit more to prove than everyone else.
