Detroit Lions Week 2 scouting report: Can Ben Johnson fix the Chicago Bears?

Coming off a difficult loss to the Green Bay Packers in Week 1, the Detroit Lions hope to bounce back at home to take on the Chicago Bears. Last week was a stinker, one of the worst losses the Lions have had under head coach Dan Campbell. While the score ended up being 27-13, it didn’t match what was on the field. The Lions have been blown out by opponents before under Campbell (2021 against the Philadelphia Eagles, 2022 against the New England Patriots, and 2023 against the Baltimore Ravens), but this one felt different.

The best time to correct those things is before your next matchup, and with former offensive coordinator Ben Johnson returning to Ford Field as the head coach of the Bears, you’ve got to focus on the next game. Johnson and the Bears are coming off a loss to the Minnesota Vikings in Week 1, and with this game being in Detroit, Johnson will have his players ready for what’s coming.

There’s a lot to unpack with the Bears from last season into this one, so lets digest it together as we look ahead with our week two scouting report of the Chicago Bears.

Last season was a dumpster fire for the Bears, to put it bluntly. They started rookie quarterback Caleb Williams, who did fair in his first season, but wasn’t blowing anybody out of the water like he was in college. Part of that is the adjustment to the NFL from college, but also a huge part of that was on coaching. Williams ended up having to watch film by himself or get outside help to review film because the coaches weren’t doing it with him. The coaching staff last season, led by head coach Matt Eberflus, was questionable all over and was the biggest reason for the downfall.

Williams finished last season throwing for 3,541 yards with 20 touchdowns and six interceptions, while rushing for 489 yards. He had a plethora of weapons at wide receiver, throwing to his top option in receiver D.J. Moore, who led the team in catches (98) and yards (966), and Keenan Allen, who led the team in touchdowns (7). He also had a fellow rookie receiver in Rome Odunze, with 734 yards and three touchdowns on 54 catches. You also can’t forget about tight end Cole Kmet with his 474 yards and four touchdowns. Running back D’Andre Swift had a nice season with 959 rushing yards and tied with fellow running back Roschon Johnson in rushing touchdowns with six.

While the offense struggled at times, the defense was the team’s strength. While EDGE Montez Sweat had a down year with only 5.5 sacks, the back seven were the most helpful. The Bears allowed the fewest passing touchdowns (17) and the 10th-lowest completion percentage (64.6). Cornerback Tyrique Stevenson tied the team in interceptions (2) but led the team in pass deflections with 12. Linebackers T.J. Edwards and Tremaine Edmunds were solid linebackers, each having over 100 tackles, with Edwards having the most tackles for loss on the team with 12.

Despite starting out 4-2, with a win over a playoff team in the Los Angeles Rams, the Bears collapsed and would lose 10 straight before ending the season beating the Packers. During that time, Eberflus fired the offensive coordinator Shane Waldron and promoted passing game coordinator Thomas Brown to the offensive coordinator position. Then, when Eberflus was fired weeks later, Brown was promoted to head coach. That much shakeup, especially on the offensive side of the ball, would hurt any team and deflated any hopes the Bears had.

Key additions: HC Ben Johnson, C Drew Dalman, DE Dayo Odeyingbo, DT Grady Jarrett, G Joe Thuney, G Jonah Jackson, WR Devin Duvernay

Key losses: HC Matt Eberflus, WR Keenan Allen, G Teven Jenkins, C Coleman Shelton, G Matt Pryor

Round 1: TE Colston Loveland
Round 2: WR Luther Burden III
Round 2: OT Ozzy Trapilo
Round 2: DT Shemar Turner
Round 4: LB Ruben Hyppolite II
Round 5: CB Zah Frazier
Round 6: G Luke Newman
Round 7: RB Kyle Monangai

After the dumpster fire that was Eberflus, the Bears wanted the top coach in the market, and that was Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson. Johnson turned the Lions offense around, and the Bears believe he can do the same with them. Hope appears to have never been higher in Chicago with the move. Johnson replaced both coordinators and has his staff in place; some even were on the Lions coaching staff last season.

It wasn’t just the coaching staff that got shaken up; the offensive line was the first thing addressed under Johnson, as he traded for guards Joe Thuney and Jonah Jackson on the same day. Johnson loves to control the line of scrimmage and give his quarterback time to throw the ball, and these upgrades certainly help Chicago in that. They would be an upgrade over the departing Teven Jenkins and Matt Pryor. The Bears also replaced center Coleman Shelton with Drew Dalman to give them three new starters on the interior offensive line, sound familiar?

The offensive line wasn’t the only thing addressed, as they got some help for their defensive line, signing EDGE Dayo Odeyingo and defensive tackle Grady Jarrett. Regarding the draft, Johnson figured this team could use more weapons on offense and drafted tight end Colston Loveland and wide receiver Luther Burden III. He also got some depth on both lines, taking Ozzy Trapilo and Shermar Turner to finish the second round. Johnson appears to be reigniting the offense with some new sparks and reinforcing the defense with some quiet additions.

Week 1: Lost to Minnesota Vikings 27-24

Stats:

After a promising start in the first three quarters, up 17-6 entering the fourth, it appeared Johnson would get his first win as a head coach. The team was slowing down the Vikings’ rushing attack, making life difficult for their quarterback J.J. McCarthy with pressure and getting their hands on passes to disrupt attempts, and the offense was looking improved. Then, suddenly in the fourth quarter, the Vikings scored three touchdowns and came back to beat the Bears 27-24. It was a big blunder by the Bears after a promising start.

Williams finished 21-for-35 for 210 yards and a touchdown, even getting his first career rushing touchdown and 58 yards on six carries. He showed signs of improvement, but also flashes of what his issues were last season. Swift couldn’t do much on the ground with 53 yards, averaging 3.1 yards per carry. The receivers were led by Moore, who finished with a team-high 68 yards on three catches, and Odunze racked up six catches for 37 yards and a touchdown.

The defense had a strong three quarters before it couldn’t contain the Vikings’ offense anymore. The defense got three sacks on McCarthy, and the team had six tackles for loss as they held Aaron Jones to 23 yards on eight carries. They allowed his backup, Jordan Mason, to step up and get 68 yards on 15 carries, and where the Bears struggled last year in run defense seemed to resurface in the second half as they finished allowing 120 rushing yards, averaging 4.6 per carry, and a touchdown.

Overall, it was a rough quarter for the Bears that ended up costing them the game, which isn’t the way you want to start the season. The offensive line looked rough due to three new players playing together, and while Williams was only sacked twice, he would have added more sacks to that total if he hadn’t wiggle out of tackles and extended plays. The Bears have some good pieces to be a solid team, but they can’t seem to get out of their own way, as it felt on Monday night.

Injury notes

Key players ruled out: None
Key players to monitor: RB Roschon Johnson (foot), CB Jaylon Johnson (calf/groin), CB Kyler Gordon (hamstring), T.J. Edwards (hamstring)

The Bears don’t seem to be dealing with too much on the injury front to start the season. Edwards is dealing with a hamstring injury and will be the biggest name to watch and see if he even practices this week. The Bears having two starting cornerbacks in Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon, who are dealing with leg injuries, isn’t what you want heading into this matchup with the Lions’ wide receivers. Johnson being limited is something to note, but the team can turn to rookie Kyle Monangai if needed. All four players missed the game last week.

Biggest strength: Secondary

When healthy, this secondary is strong all over. According to PFF, cornerbacks Gordon and Johnson were in the top three for coverage for the team, with grades of 76 (Gordon) and 74.2 (Johnson), both landing themselves in the top 20 cornerbacks in the NFL with at least 20 percent of 784 snaps played last season. While Stevenson’s grade isn’t as strong (58.4), leading the team in pass deflections (12) and tied with interceptions (2) is a nice stat to boast about. Against the Vikings, cornerback Nahshon Wright, who was filling in for Johnson, got a pick-six on McCarthy, and the Bears held him to only 143 yards despite losing.

It’s not just the cornerbacks; the safeties contribute too. Before a season-ending concussion, safety Jaquan Brisker was doing well, as he had a 63.5 coverage grade and, despite only playing in five games, was tied for 42nd in coverage according to PFF for safeties. His fellow safety Kevin Byard III had to try to help out Brisker’s replacement, Elijah Hicks, so Byard struggled afterwards. Byard had only one game with an above 80 defensive grade according to PFF after the Brisker injury, and he had two in the five games with him.

Brisker is back, so Byard should be settled in and taken care of, but now the Bears have some depth in Hicks, who can jump in if needed. According to PFF, the Bears were 10th in coverage last season, finishing with a 74.4 grade. If they can stay healthy, the group can make some plays and create turnovers to assist the offense in putting points on the board.

Biggest weakness: Offensive line

Call me crazy, but I don’t know if replacing three starters from last year on your interior offensive line with three new players is an instant upgrade. Sure, the new players are better than their replacements, but as we’ve seen in Detroit with two new starters instead of three, and another changing positions for the third time in three years, it’s not going to be just a simple plug-and-play. It will take some time for these guys to gel with each other and for the guards, the tackles, too.

While I think the Bears’ offensive line will be fine as the season continues (like Detroit’s), for now, it’s the biggest weakness on their roster. The offense should see an improvement from last season overall, but I don’t expect it to be night and day from the get-go. There are also question marks at left tackle as Braxton Jones won the starting job, despite getting some competition in training camp from backup Theo Benedet. Jones didn’t have the best camp, and if four of the starting five linemen struggle, it could be a while before the offense figures things out.

Key matchup: Lions wide receivers vs. Bears secondary

Last week, the Packers held the Lions to 225 passing yards, and the best wide receiver for Detroit was Amon-Ra St. Brown, who finished with just 45 yards on four catches. Jameson Williams only had 23 yards on his three catches, and while rookie Isaac TeSlaa had a nasty grab for a touchdown, it ultimately didn’t matter in garbage time. The Packers secondary was also down a starter at cornerback, and while the Bears secondary looks more banged up, it won’t be easy for Detroit to move the ball on them.

If the passing game struggles again, the Lions will need to rely on the run to move the chains, which might be asking for a lot. The running game for Detroit mustered up 46 yards on 22 carries, averaging 2.1 yards per carry. If the Lions continue to run into a brick wall on the ground, quarterback Jared Goff will have to sling the rock and expect his receivers to get open.

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