Detroit Lions' window is still open — even though they lost Ben Johnson
The Detroit Lions aren’t broken.
Even the loss of offensive coordinator Ben Johnson to the Chicago Bears won't derail them.
They just picked a horrible night to have a bad night — it’s that simple. When you turn the ball over five times, and your decimated defense can’t stop a hot, talented quarterback, you are gonna lose. Which is what happened on Saturday night when the Washington Commanders stunned the Lions in the NFC divisional round, 45-31.
“We failed in that game,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said Monday in his season-ending news conference. “We earned that loss together.”
There’s no reason to rehash everything that went wrong — other than it might be a little too triggering, considering most of Michigan is working through the stages of grief together.
So is Campbell.
“I’ve already gone through the loss-of-a-family-member feeling to anger yesterday to now I’m back on my feet, ready to roll,” Campbell said. “I’ve acknowledged – I can look in the mirror and say, ‘You know what, you failed, man. What are you going to do about it?’ So, that’s where we’re at and move forward, man.”
So, let’s review everything that is working.
The front office is clicking — finding talent by drafting wisely and handing out big contracts judiciously. The culture and identity are firmly in place. So is the roster. This team has the right kind of players who won earned the NFC North for the second time in a row and won a franchise-record 15 games, including 11 straight wins — all of that despite a ridiculous number of injuries.
“This was one of those bizarre, freakish years,” Campbell said of the injuries.
The window to win is still open.
So, there is no reason to make massive changes. No reason to do a teardown — that work has already taken place. There might only be a handful of new starters next season.
Just getting back the injured players will be a huge boost, like getting a bunch of massive free agency additions.
And then — and this is far more important than I ever thought — the Lions must add as much depth as possible, because we’ve seen how injuries can derail everything.
Right now, the biggest potential change is at the coordinator level.
On Monday morning, Campbell said he expects to lose both offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, who have interviewed for head coaching positions. By Monday afternoon, it had begun, with Johnson taking the Bears job.
And Campbell’s plan to replace them seems logical: Bring in similar-thinking coordinators to keep this train on the tracks.
Or maybe, put this train back on the tracks — after that stunning Commanders game — and let it start chugging along again.
“You’ve got your culture,” Campbell said. “You’ve got your identity, and you’ve got players that fit into that, and we’ve got that. We’ve got players in every pivotal position you can ask for to have success, and those guys are made the right way, so absolutely, our window is open.”
Set up for success
Let’s assume Glenn joins Johnson in leaving.
Campbell wants a coordinator who will run something similar to Glenn's defense. “I want to play man — we want to play man, so I’m going to pressure a little bit," Campbell said. "So, these things are not going to go away, we are what we are.”
That makes sense, considering how the roster has been built.
And while hiring an offensive coordinator, Campbell wants to get plenty of input from quarterback Jared Goff — and if you had any doubt, it’s clear this organization is all-in on Goff.
“This thing is set up for Goff to have success with our playmakers, (Lions WR Amon-Ra) St. Brown, our running backs, the O-line, the whole deal, (WR Jameson Williams) Jamo," Campbell said. "And so, I want to keep that in place, I want to keep our terminology in place, and I want to make sure that Goff is comfortable because he’s playing at a high level.”
Again, this makes sense on countless levels.
Because nothing is broken here.
This team set all kinds of franchise records:
- Most points scored (564) — the fourth-most in NFL history, and the most in a 17-game season.
- Most TDs (70) — tied for the fourth-most in NFL history.
- Highest point differential (plus-222).
In addition, the Lions had incredible balance. They were the first team in NFL history to have two running backs (Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery) and two wide receivers (St. Brown and Williams) produce 1,000 yards apiece.
Seriously, that doesn’t sound like anything is broken.
But obviously, there are bruises and pain after this stunning upset.
“It eats at me, that drives me, that motivates me," Campbell said. "I got a text from St. Brown at 4 o' clock in the morning yesterday, so I know the guys it eats away at, and they’re the right guys, they’re our guys for a reason. And that’s what will always give me hope and let me know we’re only going to be better, we’re going to come back stronger, we’re going to learn from this, and it’s just more fuel on the fire is what it is.”
Letting the pain fuel this organization
The Lions gave away white towels before Saturday’s game with the message: “We want more.”
Which seems incredibly ironic now.
Obviously, that’s exactly where this franchise remains after this loss — still, wanting more.
I don’t buy the argument that a franchise has to go through playoff struggles to learn how to win and become a champion.
In my opinion, matchups in particular games and health matter far more than “learning to win” in the playoffs.
Shoot, this team was healthy last year and got to the NFC championship game, probably ahead of schedule.
This year? It was banged up, made too many mistakes and got bounced in its first game.
It’s that simple.
But I do think playoff pain can do something else. If you are a true champion in waiting, if you have that kind of makeup, failure can push you to the next level.
And I think Campbell has that. I get the sense Campbell hates losing more than he likes winning. It eats at him.
“Failure only makes you stronger, man, you only come back better, I believe that,” he said. “We fell short, it wasn’t good enough, the players are extremely disappointed, I know the fans are, I certainly am, but we will reload, and we will be back.”
Count me a believer. Despite this loss, this team is still heading in the right direction.
Contact Jeff Seidel: jseidel@freepress.com. Follow him on X @seideljeff. To read his recent columns, go to freep.com/sports/jeff-seidel