For the second time this season, the Lions will take on the Bears as the two NFC North rivals face off on Sunday in their final game of the regular season.
The game marks the second contest between the Lions and their former offensive coordinator as well as a rematch of the Lions’ dominant 52-21 victory over the Bears in Week 2. Oh how things have changed since then.
After that Week 2 matchup, the Lions won three straight before enduring a Sunday Night Football loss to the Chiefs. Since that loss to Kansas City, the Lions have failed to win two games in a row and are now on a three-game losing streak and will officially miss the postseason just one year after finishing 15-2.
Meanwhile, the Bears have rebounded from their 0-2 start by going 11-2 since. They secured impressive wins over the Packers and Eagles along the journey, and won the NFC North division for the first time since 2018. As everyone expected before the season, the Bears enter this matchup with a chance to lock up the No. 2 seed while the Lions are only playing for pride.
“They’re more polished,” Campbell said of the Bears. “They’re a better team. Since that time they lead the league in takeaways. It’s contagious for them, those guys are getting them in a good way. ... It’s much more sound. [Dennis Allen’s] got his system in and it’s grown and developed. They’re keeping teams out of the end zone, keeping their offense ahead. That’s what you got to do on defense.”
“Ben’s done a good job, the system is in,” Campbell added. “These little things that were there Game 2, Game 1 they begin to go away. They found a run game, play-action pass, Caleb (Williams) is playing real well, o-line’s playing really well. Swift is running well, [Monangai] he’s a downhill hard runner too. Tight ends playing really well, all three of them. They’re playing at a high level. They’re doing things well, much more polished.”
Though Campbell had plenty of praise for Johnson, he and the Lions will look to upset the ever-improving Bears and snap their own current losing streak. They’ll look to close out the year on a high note with a last revenge win over their former offensive coordinator.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Dan Campbell Reflects on Changes Since Last Matchup vs. Ben Johnson, Bears.
