The biggest remaining question for the Detroit Lions heading into Week 1 is how the loss of offensive coordinator Ben Johnson is going to hurt the offense.
All of the talent and upside are still in place, but the Lions have yet to prove they can produce without the offensive genius of Johnson. The Chicago Bears' head coach has had his leadership and abilities built up throughout the offseason as his team gets excited about the new direction and leadership. This leaves all the more reason for Detroit fans to feel a bit of anxiety about whether or not the loss of Johnson is going to harm the offense.
Johnson's replacement is last year's passing coordinator with the Denver Broncos, John Morton, who previously worked in Detroit in 2022. Morton has the experience needed to earn the promotion, but there is incredible pressure on the coach to make it work from Week 1.
Lions OC John Morton Facing Daunting Task of Replacing Ben Johnson
Lions fans know that head coach Dan Campbell isn't going to ignore the fact that not only does Detroit start the season on the road, but they are underdogs. Despite sweeping the Green Bay Packers last season, sportsbooks view the Packers as the favorite and have doubled down on this after the splashy addition of former Dallas star Micah Parsons.
According to FanDuel Sportsbook, Green Bay is the 2.5-point favorite over Detroit as of Tuesday afternoon.
While Parsons' health remains in question, Lions fans aren't going to argue that the move made the Packers unquestionably better. However, there is no evidence that the Lions still aren't the team sitting atop the NFC North. All of the talent needed to make another run is in place, and the Lions finally have a healthy roster after being the walking wounded throughout 2024.
Yes, there is legitimate pressure and concern when it comes to Morton in Week 1. With that said, Detroit fans have a lot of reason for excitement and optimism when it comes to the new offensive coordinator. The level of pressure is simply due to a standard of greatness that Johnson and Campbell established over the past two seasons.
Quarterback Jared Goff, a gifted backfield, and all the primary pass game weapons are returning. The only question marks are the new OC and whether or not the Lions have been able to replace center Frank Ragnow after the veteran's surprise retirement at the end of the 2024 season.
All of this compiles squarely on the shoulders of Morton, who is going to be the first person blamed if anything goes wrong offensively. It doesn't matter where the truth lies; if the Lions offense isn't clicking, there is too much love for Campbell and this front office for the finger-pointing to not begin with Morton.
All of this makes Week 1's matchup against the Packers an incredibly important tone setter for a group that is already being doubted and an OC who quickly needs to gain the trust of an excited fan base.
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