Week 2 of the NFL season typically doesn’t generate Super Bowl-level anticipation, but the 2025 Detroit Lions home opener against Chicago might be an exception. It’s not just another divisional matchup—it’s personal, featuring former Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson returning to Ford Field wearing Bears colors.
“Oh, come on. We all know which one I’m looking forward to. Week 2, that first Bears matchup against Dan Campbell and Ben Johnson,” exclaimed MLive’s Kory Woods on a recent Dungeon of Doom podcast episode. “I mean just outside of this building, so much has been made about what is this offense going to look like. Did Ben Johnson take all the secrets in the juice with him to Chicago?”
The storyline writes itself: Johnson, the offensive wunderkind who helped transform Detroit’s attack into one of the league’s most explosive units, now brings his playbook and institutional knowledge to a division rival. Detroit sports fans have encountered it before, but this one might hit differently.
“I think Ben might get it worse,” Woods said when comparing potential fan reactions to Johnson versus [the reception Matthew Stafford received in his return](https://www.mlive.com/lions/2024/09/matthew-stafford-over-boos-jared-goff-chants-in-detroit-return.html). “I think so. I think Ben might get it worse. I mean, with Stafford, there is a segment of fans that were, you know, happy he left just so he can go get himself a ring.”
For Campbell and the Lions, this matchup represents more than just an early-season division game—it’s a chance to prove the offense remains elite without its former coordinator.
“I do think that is it gonna be a game where Dan Campbell comes in there with a message like, ‘hey, show them that this, this, this is, this is still a well-oiled machine without Ben Johnson and you know, all respect to him, but we can still get it done,’” Woods predicted.
This matchup will test both men in different ways. For Johnson, it’s about managing the emotional dimensions of his return while implementing his system with a new quarterback in Caleb Williams.
“That’s the headlines, the emotion, the distractions, the talk. Coming back home, probably still has a house,” Ben Raven noted about Johnson’s challenges.
**Check out the entire Dungeon of Doom episode below:**
_AI was used to summarize a recent episode of the Dungeon of Doom podcast. This story was reviewed and edited by MLive staff._