ALLEN PARK — The Detroit Lions get a pair of division matchups [against former offensive coordinator Ben Johnson’s Chicago Bears](https://www.mlive.com/lions/2025/05/ben-johnson-might-get-it-worse-than-stafford-in-week-2-lions-bears-matchup.html) the year after he ran the top unit in the NFL for Detroit.
It will surely be an intriguing set of meetings that could have plenty on the line in a crowded NFC North, with the matchup in Detroit being the home-opener in Week 2 and the Chicago game serving as the regular-season finale.
When asked about facing Johnson and the Bears so early in the season by a reporter, coach Dan Campbell didn’t come with as much intrigue about the storyline.
“I’m indifferent to it. Put them where you want them; Green Bay here, Chicago here, Minnesota here, Baltimore here, Kansas City here, the Rams here,” Campbell said on Thursday. “We’ve gotta play them all. And we’ve got to be ready to play every one of them one week at a time.”
The Lions have a mammoth of a schedule staring at them, currently expected to be one of the toughest in the league.
Beyond the NFC North looking like one of the deeper divisions in the NFL, Detroit faces seven playoff teams from last year outside division play and five of those games are on the road.
Campbell has [expressed excitement for the brutal schedule](https://www.mlive.com/lions/2025/05/its-freaking-awesome-dan-campbell-excited-for-brutal-detroit-lions-2025-schedule.html) as he says it will help prepare the Lions for the rigors of the postseason.
“I’m excited for the way it’s laid out,” Campbell said. “I love the home games, I love the road games. I love the night games — not as much. We’ve got some one o’clock (kickoffs) this year, which is good. But we’ll be ready, I don’t care how it lines up, we have to be ready to go and we will be."
Johnson spent six seasons with the Lions in various roles, his final three spent as offensive coordinator under Campbell. After being pursued for a head-coaching job in 2023, Johnson stuck around for another season to lead the NFL’s top offense.
The Lions’ meeting with the Bears on Sept. 14 will be Johnson’s second-ever game as a head coach and it could be an emotionally-charged return to Detroit.