Pride of Detroit
The best cure for a beatdown is to deliver one yourself.
The Detroit Lions took out their bottled Week 1 frustrations against the Chicago Bears in a Week 2 tilt that spiraled into a blowout for the home team. Detroit dropped a staggering 52 points on the hapless Bears in a game highlighted by the awoken Lions offense. After tallying just 13 points against the Green Bay Packers last week, Detroit topped that total in the first quarter alone. The Lions never let off the gas in this outing, making things appear personal against former offensive coordinator and current Bears head coach Ben Johnson.
The contrast between the Week 1 loss and Week 2 trounce is enough to give you whiplash. The offense went from asleep at the switch to unstoppable. The defense went from getting bullied to creating critical plays at critical times. The Lions faced some steep criticism after their opening loss, but a blowout like this should change that tune.
Out of every Lion, which player had the biggest bounce-back against Chicago?
Today’s Question of the Day is:
My answer: Jared Goff.
Goff did not need the approval or disapproval of the national media, but a performance like this one did plenty to silence any criticism that was levied his way after a disappointing loss to the Packers. Throughout his career, Goff has faced a harsh narrative: his success has been buoyed by the offensive minds around him. In Los Angeles, it was Sean McVay elevating the team—evident by a Super Bowl loss in which Goff struggled, no? In Detroit, it was Ben Johnson elevating the team—evident by Goff’s 2021 and 2025 Week 1 struggles without Johnson, no?
That notion should be firmly put to bed with Sunday’s victory over the Bears. Will Goff have a bad game over the course of the season? Almost certainly. Yet regardless of when that happens or how that happens, we can acknowledge that his successes and failures are not tied to Ben Johnson at offensive coordinator. I have firm confidence to say that Goff is a quarterback of his own making, not a byproduct of the offense he is in.
If anything, the offense is truly his. Offensive coordinator John Morton deserves a heap of praise for the win, but planning only goes so far. At the end of the day, execution is what wins or loses football games, and Goff was near perfect on Sunday. He completed 23-of-28 passes for 334 yards and a whopping five touchdowns, a staggering reversal from last week’s outing. Against the Packers, they could muster very little downfield—their longest pass through the air was a mere 20 yards. Safe to say, the Goff was able to air it out against Chicago:
When Goff is locked in, the offense hums like no other in the league. The downfield passing attack opens up, facilitating the speed of Jameson Williams. The threat of Williams opens up...
