Lions beat writer: Bears should hand Ben Johnson blank check

Tryptophan was a hot potato in Detroit’s 23-20 Thanksgiving win over Chicago at Ford Field. After the Bears slept through their first four possessions with no first downs and 35 total yards, the Lions managed only seven points and 126 yards in the second half. And, if not for the Bears’ colossal mismanagement of the clock in the final minute, Detroit nearly lost its eighth consecutive Thanksgiving game.

The game highlighted a stark difference in coaching. Whenever they stop writing their 2024 story, possibly in the franchise’s first Super Bowl appearance, the Lions are expected to lose both defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn and offensive coordinator Ben Johnson to head-coaching roles somewhere else. Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press said the Lions should be thankful on this Thanksgiving that they still have Johnson, the NFL’s best play-caller.

“As for Johnson,” Birkett wrote, “the Bears likely will be in need of a head coach this offseason and if ownership was watching this game, they’d be wise to hand Johnson a blank check and let him fill in the numbers.”

The Lions’ offensive numbers listed 405 yards on 69 plays in the win. Three of those plays, according to Birkett, were brilliantly designed by Johnson.

The highlight of that trio came on Detroit’s first possession, an end-around handoff to 6-5, 335-pound right tackle Penei Sewell. Because the big man initially looked downfield for a covered Amon-Ra St. Brown, Chicago earned a sack after Sewell tucked the ball and looked to run.

“Yeah, that was a fun one that we’ve been working on for a while,” said quarterback Jared Goff. “It just hadn’t come up for whatever reason and he got it and didn’t quite have the look to throw it, so didn’t work out, but he made two or three guys miss on the tackle and I was kind of giggling the whole time watching it.”

Later in the quarter, Goff completed a 29-yard pass to St. Brown off a pick from Tim Patrick, setting up the game’s first touchdown. Birkett said Johnson designed the play so Goff moved the pocket to fool the Bears and spring St. Brown.

Johnson’s final stroke was what turned out to be a pivotal play before Caleb Williams led Chicago on a furious comeback. With 2:43 left in the third quarter, Goff executed a fake toss to misdirect two Bears before connecting with tight end Sam LaPorta for a 1-yard touchdown to give Detroit a 23-7 lead. Jahmyr Gibbs and Brock Wright had important roles in opening the window for LaPorta, who finished with three catches for 6 yards and two touchdowns.

Chicago (4-8) has lost six consecutive games, four of which have come by 10 combined points. The Bears, who started 4-2, get 10 days before their next game at San Francisco on Dec. 8. Detroit, however, gets only a week before hosting Green Bay on Thursday night in Week 14.

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