When Ben Johnson left the Detroit Lions to become the head coach of the Chicago Bears, there were lots of ... opinions. Of those opinions, though, were many Lions fans who were extremely sour towards the decision and swore Detroit would be just fine without their offensive guru.
Bears fans were ecstatic, but Lions fans thought they were going to continue their run of NFC supremacy.
After the Bears beat the Green Bay Packers in Week 16, though, Johnson's squad had an opportunity to clinch a playoff berth with the most ironic help you could imagine. If Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Lions just a day after Chicago's victory, then the Bears clinch a postseason berth.
And, as a matter of fact, the Lions did, indeed, lose to Rodgers and the Steelers.
Ben Johnson vindicated as Bears earn a playoff berth thanks to Lions' loss to Steelers
All of that talk by so many Lions fans and a few specific radio personalities now looks even more atrocious. It looks absolutely hilarious.
Because it is absolutely dead-wrong, and it is also factually wrong, which is the best part.
Johnson is in Chicago now, and his Bears are headed to the playoffs. Forget trying to get 8-to-9 wins in Johnson's first season and considering that a big improvement. No, these Bears are thinking bigger and better things.
Meanwhile, the Lions are hanging on for their playoff lives. With the loss to Pittsburgh, Detroit now needs a miracle to make the postseason. They have a measly six percent chance of making the playoffs after Week 16.
Have I mentioned the Bears clinched a playoff spot thanks to Detroit's loss?
Right, yes.
The Lions might have a top-5 offense without Johnson, but the Bears not only have a top-5 offense but a defense that leads the league in takeaways.
Oh, and the Lions don't have a Caleb Williams.
At this point, Detroit fans are better off by just admitting defeat. Johnson is up there with Mike Vrabel as a frontrunner for the NFL's Coach of the Year award and, meanwhile, Dan Campbell looks like a man who is drowning without the star-studded coaching staff he once had.
All of the credit goes to Johnson and his now-star-studded staff of his own. Chicago is playoff-bound and the Lions are very likely going to be watching the Bears' postseason run from their couch.