Jared Goff and the Detroit Lions must demonstrate that they can keep the Super Bowl dream alive without Ben Johnson

Sky Sports NFL’s Neil Reynolds and Phoebe Schecter discuss Jared Goff’s preparation for his first meeting with former coach Ben Johnson. Watch Goff’s Detroit Lions face the Chicago Bears live on Sky Sports NFL at 6pm Sunday.

This Sunday, Jared Goff’s Detroit Lions will play Ben Johnson’s Chicago Bears in his first reunion with the offensive mastermind who helped him revitalize his NFL career.

The Lions lost their prized offensive architect this offseason. Can they and Jared Goff keep their Super Bowl dreams alive without him?

Johnson was appointed as the Bears’ head coach this offseason after establishing himself as one of the league’s most sought-after string pullers in Detroit.

Johnson transformed the Lions into one of the NFL’s greatest offensive shows, employing a variety of trick plays and unconventional formations. However, following their Week One loss to the Green Bay Packers, Dan Campbell’s team and quarterback face some questions.

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“It was tough to watch last week because it just didn’t feel like the same Lions team,” said Phoebe Schecter, Sky Sports NFL’s Inside the Huddle host. “We enjoy watching them because of their enthusiasm, energy, composure, and innovation.

“Ben Johnson brought it to the table. You still have a lot of similar coaches throughout the organization. I believe that from an offensive play-calling standpoint, they should start the run earlier. They need to be able to incorporate that play-action game.

“This offensive line needs to be able to establish itself early. They seemed to be incapable of moving the ball or acting as enforcers. As a result, when they attempted to establish a run game, Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery combined for 34 touches and failed to reach 100 yards. That has never happened before.

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Detroit raced to the top seed in the NFC last season, finishing 15-2 as strong Super Bowl favorites, only to lose to the Jayden Daniels-inspired Washington Commanders in the Divisional Round of the playoffs.

The Lions were dealt a blow in the offseason when star center Frank Ragnow departed at the age of 29, and Graham Glasgow took his place between the developing Christian Mahogany and Tate Ratledge.

Last season, Johnson unleashed Gibbs and Montgomery behind a mammoth blocking line to produce one of the NFL’s most dynamic and physically imposing running offenses. The Packers hardly noticed them.

“It really reminded me of last year with Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars when they had no answers,” Schecter said afterwards. “I thought that was really rare for this team. What type of answers can they provide Jared Goff?

“Some of that can be attributed to Green Bay’s outstanding performance against them. They have a great opportunity this week against the Bears’ defense.

In the season-opening loss to Green Bay, Goff completed 31 of 39 passes for 225 yards, one touchdown, and one interception against a rampaging Packers defense.

Last season, the former Rams quarterback ranked second with 4,629 passing yards, throwing 37 touchdown passes and 12 interceptions for a 72.4 completion percentage.

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“Jared Goff is one of those that’s going to be very interesting to watch because he was at his best in LA when Sean McVay was kind of guiding him and being a puppet on a string almost, certainly helping him be in the right situation,” Neil Reynolds, who hosts Sky Sports NFL, said.

“Under Ben Johnson, Goff led the NFL in passing yards and touchdowns.” So we need to see Goff return to doing it on his own because his first stint in Detroit was not particularly successful.

“We’ve got to watch and see how it plays out for him.”

Johnson’s Bears start Week Two looking for their first victory after losing 27-24 to JJ McCarthy’s Minnesota Vikings in the season opener.