On November 16th, the Detroit Lions went into Lincoln Financial Field against the defending champion Philadelphia Eagles. They had reasons to feel confident. They'd won six of their last eight games and crushed Washington 44-22 the previous week. A win against the champs would put them in the driver's seat for the top NFC playoff seed. Instead, their offense faltered, managing just 74 rushing yards and nine points. What stood out was the inability to adjust to the Eagles' defensive tactics. This had not been a problem in years past. For the first time, dread started to creep in. Maybe Ben Johnson was more important than they realized.
Everything felt great after Detroit crushed the Chicago Bears 52-21 in September. The offense clicked. Johnson was humbled. They had the talent. Coaching was secondary. So try to imagine what went through the heads of Lions fans when the Bears went into Philadelphia and stunned the Eagles 24-15, capped by 281 rushing yards. It was a straight ass-kicking.
Don't bother. Detroit fans made their feelings crystal clear all over Twitter (X) after the game. To say they're spiraling would be a gross understatement.
Ben Johnson is merely the latest in a familiar NFL lesson.
When you have great success in this league, it will come with a price. That price is watching great assistant coaches get poached by other teams. It happens everywhere. Either you learn to handle it, or it will ruin what you've built. Detroit always knew it was on borrowed time with Ben Johnson. They had a decision to make. They either prepare for his inevitable departure or they fire head coach Dan Campbell and put Johnson in his place. The latter was not something they could do without a massive firestorm of criticism. Firing a guy who got you to an NFC championship and the best record in franchise history? Impossible.
Unfortunately, they didn't go with the former either. It never felt like Detroit groomed a suitable replacement or had a proven option they wanted to pursue. They went with John Morton, who didn't have the greatest background calling plays. Now they're paying for that lack of foresight.
