With two division rivals meeting to avoid a 0-2 start to the 2025 campaign, you'd think that is where the bulk of the attention has been in the days leading up to the showdown. That would be the case in a normal game.
Sunday's tilt between the Detroit Lions and Chicago Bears will be anything but normal as former Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson returns to the Motor City for the first time as head coach of the NFC North rival team.
Given the success Detroit enjoyed while Johnson was running the offense, his former pupils have been sharing their opinions on Johnson as a man and a coach. Meanwhile, the Lions' biggest offensive stars hope to send him back to the Windy City with a loss.
Amon-Ra St. Brown Wants to See Ben Johnson Fail in Return to Detroit
While speaking with the media in attendance on Thursday, star wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown offered up his thoughts on his former Lions OC jumping ship after the 2024 season. Needless to say, he wasn't overly surprised by the decision to take a head coaching job, but it seems safe to assume St. Brown did not anticipate that job coming in Chicago.
“I love Ben. I’ll never really have anything bad to say about him just because of what he did for me as a player,” St. Brown said, via Eric Woodyard of ESPN.com. "Just seeing the work ethic that he had, I respect him as a coach, as a man. And, I love Ben, but there's two games out of the year where I want him to fail."
Seeing St. Brown offer such praise to Johnson shouldn't come as a surprise. He certainly deserves some of the credit for how far the three-time Pro Bowl receiver has come since entering the league before the 2021 season.
Under Johnson's tutelage, St. Brown recorded three straight seasons with 1,000 yards receiving or more. The former University of Southern California standout also racked up 33 touchdowns in 66 games with Johnson calling the plays.
Despite that past success under Johnson, St. Brown knows that his loyalty is to the Lions and not his former playcaller. This is why the former fourth-round pick hopes to see Johnson fall flat on his face this Sunday afternoon in Detroit.
With the players sounding like they're locked in and ready to turn their fortunes around with a win, the fans in attendance should be fired up to see their Lions perform on their home field for the first time this season.
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