Instant Reactions: Bears throttled in Ben Johnson’s return to Detroit

That could’ve gone better.

Ben Johnson’s return to Detroit was a “circled on the calendar” game for both teams. What the Bears were hoping would serve as a significant step in the right direction quickly turned into a blowout that leaves them with more questions than answers.

Caleb Williams finished the day 19-for-30 passing for 207 yards and Rome Odunze posted single-game career-highs in receptions (7) and receiving yards (128). Tyson Bagent finished the game for the Bears at quarterback with the game well out of reach in the fourth quarter.

There’s plenty of blame to hand out and go around, but it’s impossible to pin the bulk of it on Williams and the offense.

To say that Dennis Allen’s defense struggled against the Lions would be an understatement. The unit has now allowed 73 points over the previous five quarters of play.

Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams both surpassed 100 yards receiving and Jared Goff tied his career-high with five touchdown passes.

Jaylon Johnson, who made his season debut on Sunday, left in the first half after appearing to aggravate his groin injury. He was initially ruled questionable to return but was eventually downgraded to out.

T.J. Edwards also aggravated the hamstring injury that kept him out against the Vikings in Week 1. He did not return.

Lions 52, Bears 21

Next up: Ben Johnson and the Bears vs. Matt Eberflus and the Cowboys.

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Adam Hoge

The sky shouldn’t be falling after two weeks, but it’s hard to find any optimism when the Bears are already 0-2 in the NFC North and weren’t competitive against the Lions. Dennis Allen’s defense is in a bad place, allowing 73 points in the last five quarters.

Even worse, Jaylon Johnson (groin) and T.J. Edwards (hamstring) aggravated their injuries and might be out for a while.

The Lions were borderline disrespectful going for it on 4th & goal up 24 points, but the Bears didn’t do anything about it, somehow ending up with defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo trying to cover Amon Ra St. Brown. That whole sequence was more embarrassing than Jared Goff’s failed celebration leap into the stands.

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Adam Jahns

The Lions’ offense didn’t look like it missed Ben Johnson. Not even a little bit. Detroit dominated from start to finish. Quarterback Jared Goff had an outstanding day, completing 23 of 28 passes for 334 yards and five touchdowns for a 156.0 passer rating. Receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown was unstoppable. He made nine catches for 115 yards and three touchdowns. Jameson Williams was a problem, too, with two catches for 108 yards and one touchdown. Running backs Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery combined for 151 rushing yards. They each scored a touchdown.

It didn’t help that the Bears lost cornerback Jaylon Johnson (groin), but he was still playing in his first game after missing all of training camp and Week 1 against the Vikings. He hurt his groin breaking up a pass to St. Brown over the middle.

The Bears didn’t pressure Goff. He had all day to throw. And when the Bears did get close, Goff made off-schedule throws for big gains. He looked like a star while the game got away from quarterback Caleb Williams. Johnson’s Bears offense just couldn’t keep pace with the Lions’ offensive onslaught.

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Mark Carman

I did my best to convince myself that the Bears could somehow beat the Lions and that last week against the Packers meant the Lions had fallen off a cliff. Welp. At least I put in the effort.

A fair question to ask oneself at 0-2 is who on this Bears team is a difference maker. Rome Odunze? He was the most productive Bear on a day when the Bears’ defense fell apart and the offensive line could not protect.

Ben Johnson said the Bears would play their best ball in December. The Bears can start that climb next week against Dallas, a team closer to their class. The Lions remain a Super Bowl contender. The Bears remain in contention for a top-five pick.

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Patrick Norton

That was the first time the Bears have allowed 50+ points in a game since 2014.

Caleb Williams had decent touch on some throws for Rome Odunze but still had difficulty connecting on the deep ball. The worrisome aspect of his performance came as the Bears slipped further and further behind the Lions.

I don’t know if it’s his perceived need to put the team on his back, but when the going got tough, we saw some old bad habits pop up for the former No. 1 pick: throwing wildly on the run, blindly tossing one up off of his back foot and staying in the pocket just a bit too long.

But Williams’ shortcomings were far less apparent on Sunday, and the defense’s performance was far more brutal — and borderline embarrassing. No pressure on Jared Goff and broken coverage throughout the secondary — not a great combination.

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Greg Braggs Jr.

We suck.

See you at the tailgate next week. Drinks might help with whatever it is we just watched today.