Dan Campbell of the Detroit Lions
Getty
The Detroit Lions really beat the Chicago Bears hard on Sunday, and Bears head coach Ben Johnson is sending a message to the team.
The Detroit Lions and Chicago Bears went at in on Sunday, September 14, at Ford Field, and wow, what a game. It was really the kind of lopsided win that Motor City craved, as the Detroit Lions beat the Chicago Bears in a 52-21 victory.
There was no way the Bears were even able to try to beat the Lions this time around. Detroit was more than ready for this game, and their performance on the field showed it. As ESPN points out, Lions quarterback Jared Goff finished “with a near perfect passer rating (156.0) while throwing for 334 yards and five touchdowns” and “wideout Amon-Ra St. Brown caught three of the scores.”
Bears quarterback Caleb Williams passed for 207 yards and two touchdowns for Chicago. Bears’ Rome Odunze caught both of Williams’ scoring passes, and he finished with seven catches and 128 yards. Former Lions player D’Andre Swift also rushed for 63 yards and a touchdown.
It was a blissful game for the Lions, indeed. Following the show, Johnson talked about the hit the team took from Detroit, and he was honest about what went down.
Ben Johnson Discusses the Detroit Lions Loss
When asked about Campbell in the post-game presser, Johnson pointed out exactly what happened. He worked with Campbell for years so certainly knows how he operates.
“What’s he supposed to do? It’s fourth-and-goal, what do you want him to do,” Johnson said when asked about Campbell’s fourth-down decision. “Yeah he could have kicked the field goal. They don’t kick field goals. They go for it there. He was doing what he’s supposed to do.” He added, “That’s what he does.”
It’s also worth pointing out that Johnson’s postgame handshake with Campbell was super short and didn’t look super friendly. Kole Noble of A to Z sports added, “Whether the intent was there to run up the score on his former coordinator or not, the reaction should still be the same. The 52-21 loss was a humiliating performance, no question about it.”
Ben Johnson Talks Jared Goff
Before of Sunday’s game, Johnson talked up Goff, which was nice to see. Goff had a fantastic game, and Johnson knew he would have trouble containing the quarterback.
“I just know he’s a very resilient individual, one of the most that I’ve been around in the NFL,” Johnson said in a conference on Thursday, September 12. “He’s been to the top, he’s been to the bottom, and he certainly finds a way each week to come back and swing away. So, I know we’ll get the best version to compete against here this week.”
In PFF’s tally of the best quarterbacks of 2025, they have Goff on “Tier 3a: Solid starters who have flashed high-end play” and ranked No. 9. “Goff has piloted one of the NFL’s most productive offenses over the past two seasons, earning an 84.8 passing grade over that span, the seventh-best in the league,” John Kosko states in the May 2025 feature.
This was certainly the Detroit Lions that people in the Motor City wanted to see last weekend. But, it’s even better to see them in against the Bears, so we’ll take it.