Throughout the 2025 season and into Week 1, there was consistent heat on new Detroit Lions offensive coordinator John Morton to prove himself. There was an expectation that the Lions were going to take a step in the wrong direction after the loss of Ben Johnson. However, Morton took advantage of the Monday Night Football stage to prove just how wrong these takes had been.
A week after a dominating win over the Chicago Bears, the Lions were again clicking offensively on the road against the Ravens. No play better sums up Morton's game than a late fourth-down close to the goalline when Morton called a double option play that saw Amon-Ra St. Brown get the hand-off from Jared Goff before tossing the ball to Jahmyr Gibbs, who waltzed into the end zone for a touchdown.
It was a signal of the confidence of a play caller and an offense that is again having fun offensively. This is what Detroit fans envisioned the offense could be, even without Johnson, who is quickly becoming an afterthought for the franchise.
Lions Offensive Coordinator John Morton Again Quiets Doubts Perfectly Replacing Ben Johnson
Not only are Lions fans quickly forgetting about the loss of the former OC, but pundits are again being forced to eat their words and respect Detroit's offense. It is important to note that all of this was possible based on Dan Campbell's consistent trust in his coaches and allowing multiple downs to convert in short and medium yardage situations. It gives your offense and coach a certain swagger, understanding the trust you have from the top decision maker.
For Morton, this was a statement game on the road against a Ravens team that has looked unstoppable in the 2025 season. This is one of the league's top contenders, and Morton's unit put up 38 points and 225 rushing yards in a dominating effort.
Every phase of the game was working for the Lions' offense. Starting with the improvement on the inside of the offensive line with the new guard and center alignment, giving Goff plenty of time and opening huge runways for both backs.
This production against an elite team officially wipes away any narrative that the Lions couldn't survive without Johnson. More importantly, it allows Morton to take a sigh of relief and take pressure off the coordinator in attempting to live up to unfair expectations.
Instead, fans and pundits again believe in the talent of the offense and are putting the Lions alongside the Philadelphia Eagles as the top contenders in the NFC. The only reasonable takeaway you can have from what has been an incredible turnaround after a frustrating Week 1 loss.
That loss that can now be viewed as an outlier of the Lions simply needing game reps to get used to new pieces and coordinators. The two weeks since have been a return to dominance that fans are used to seeing from Detroit's offense and a clear statement from Morton.