For the lack of a better description, the Detroit Lions took a year off. Losing top assistants Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn was a big blow, and, once again, it cast doubt on Dan Campbell's fitness to lead this team to the mountaintop.
This team has spent the entire year listening to the outside noise, hot take specialists, and naysayers questioning their status as Super Bowl contenders. They've heard it all, and, knowing Coach Campbell, they're keeping receipts.
That's why they'll look to make a statement in their two meetings with Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears. With all the hype surrounding Chicago's quarterback, the Lions will want to humble him and prove who's the real king in the north.
The Lions must make a statement against Caleb Williams
Despite struggling with accuracy, the hype around Williams has reached an all-time high this offseason. From being selected as the Madden cover athlete to hearing Micah Parsons call him the best player in the league, things are getting out of control.
While Williams has posted some solid numbers (passer rating of 96.8 with 1,009 yards, 9 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions) in his four career games vs. Detroit, he's gone 0-4.
Sweeping them for the third consecutive year might be a tough ask, given how much the Bears have improved, but the Lions still hold bragging rights against Williams. Ben Johnson might be a good head coach and great offensive play-caller, but he still has plenty of catching up to do to get back at his mentor.
The Lions were one of the most disappointing teams in the league last season, and recency bias is always huge in this line of business. Despite losing both games vs. the Lions, the Bears finished the season as divisional champions and reached the NFC Divisional Round, so they're going to be vastly overrated.
Johnson's team will now be in for a rude awakening. Facing a first-place schedule is an entirely different story, especially in the most competitive division in all of football. Williams will have to take a massive leap in year 3 after being one of the least accurate quarterbacks in the league for the past couple of years if he wants to live up to the sky-high expectations.
The Lions, on the other hand, will continue to keep tabs on all the pundits and talking heads counting them out and hyping their divisional rivals. They have to own it after such a bad season, but it'll be interesting to see if they keep the same energy at the end of the season.
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