Ben Johnson had a snippy response after big Bears loss to the Lions, but he’s right

Sunday was not a good day for the Chicago Bears. It was, however, a great day for the Detroit Lions. Dan Campbell and his team went out and just handled Ben Johnson’s Bears to the tune of 52-21. On the Detroit side, you could tell this one was personal. What did you expect? Week 1 […]

Mike Payton Detroit Lions Beat Writer
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Sep 14, 2025; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson looks on after the game against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field. Mandatory Credit: Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images

Sunday was not a good day for the Chicago Bears. It was, however, a great day for the Detroit Lions. Dan Campbell and his team went out and just handled Ben Johnson’s Bears to the tune of 52-21. On the Detroit side, you could tell this one was personal.

What did you expect? Week 1 was rough, and some fans and national media talked about this team as if they were just done and nobody should worry about them anymore. One of the big reasons why people believed they were done was because the coach on the other side of the field isn’t here anymore. Because of that, this offense just wasn’t supposed to be good. Well, turns out the Lions’ good players are good no matter who coaches them.

Ben Johnson’s response to whether Dan Campbell ran up the score in Week 2

There was one part of the game in particular that showed how personal this thing was. It was in the fourth quarter when the Lions were up 45-21. The Lions were on the goal line, and it was fourth down. They could have just kicked the field goal, right? This game was over. But they went for it, and Amon-Ra St. Brown walked out with his third touchdown of the game. They ran up the score on the Bears. It’s what happened.

When Johnson was asked about it after the game, he had a pretty snippy response to the question, but after being here for four seasons, he knows what the modus operandi is.

“What’s he supposed to do? It’s fourth-and-goal, what do you want him to do?” Johnson said. “He could’ve kicked the field goal. They don’t kick field goals. They go for it there. He was doing what he was supposed to do. That’s what he does.”

So maybe no hard feelings coming from Johnson on this one. He’s right, though. This is what the Lions traditionally do under Dan Campbell. They score no matter what. If you don’t like it, stop it. They live by that motto, and that comes to their thoughts on teams doing that kind of thing to them, too. We know that because that was one of the reasons the Lions didn’t vote to abolish the tush push in the spring. They believe in competition.