Ben Johnson was not in the friendliest of moods on Sunday after his Chicago Bears got trounced by his former team.
Johnson’s squad did not look sharp in his return to Ford Field in Detroit, Mich. The Bears got blown out by the Detroit Lions 52-21 in a game that felt over early in the third quarter.
Jared Goff was particularly potent in the Week 2 showdown. The four-time Pro Bowler went 23/28 for 334 yards and 5 touchdowns as his Lions put on a scoring clinic against their former offensive coordinator.
Goff recorded his final TD midway through the fourth quarter with the game’s result virtually decided. Detroit had 4th-and-goal at Chicago’s 4-yard line. Despite having a 45-21 lead at that point, the Lions went for it instead of kicking a field goal.
Johnson was asked about the moment during his postgame press conference. The Bears head coach did not appreciate Lions reporter Jeff Riger’s line of questioning.
Riger: “Did you believe [Lions head coach] Dan Campbell ran it up on you on 4th-and-4, going for it in the fourth quarter?”
Johnson: “What’s he supposed to do? It’s 4th-and-goal. What do you want them to do? Yeah, he could’ve kicked the field goal. They don’t kick field goals. They go for it. So he’s just doing what he’s supposed to do. That’s what he does?”
Riger: “How demoralizing is this loss, considering you were coming back, you left for Chicago?”
Johnson: “It’s not demoralizing at all. We’ve got to play better. It’s as simple as that.”
Does Ben Johnson believe Dan Campbell ran it up on him and the Bears?
— Jeff Riger (@riger1984) September 14, 2025
Also, how demoralizing was this loss for him considering everything? pic.twitter.com/GpNcEoz8L0
Johnson rolled his eyes as Riger asked his first question. The Bears coach did not even wait for him to finish his second one before responding.
Given his immense success as the Lions’ offensive coordinator from 2022 to 2024, Johnson was widely considered one of the sexiest head coaching candidates in recent memory. He turned down several interested NFL teams to take on the challenge of turning the Bears franchise’s fortunes around.
However, Johnson’s tenure as head coach has not gone smoothly thus far. The Bears looked like they had a Week 1 win secured before Minnesota Vikings QB JJ McCarthy sliced and diced Chicago’s defense in the fourth quarter. It didn’t help that Johnson himself made a critical error in the game’s final minutes.
