Lions OC Ben Johnson knocks job interview out of park with 34-17 win, trick play for touchdown

In dueling auditions Sunday for the Bears’ head-coaching vacancy, Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson wowed the crowd at Soldier Field, while Bears interim coach Thomas Brown was knocked out of the running.

As the Lions rolled to a 34-17 victory that could’ve been more lopsided, Brown’s team fell flat again.

Johnson even unveiled a trick play that put his team ahead by 20 early in the third quarter.

The Lions capped their opening drive of the second half with a preposterous — and perfect — play: Quarterback Jared Goff pretended to fumble the snap and caught the Bears out of position as tight end Sam LaPorta ran open toward the end zone for a 21-yard touchdown reception.

“Ben’s always got something up his sleeve,” Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams said with a smirk.

RRemember when Matt Eberflus claimed he had something up his sleeve last season, and it turned out to be nothing?

Initially, Johnson wanted an actual fumble. He and Goff agreed on a fake one in which running back Jahmyr Gibbs dove to the ground for the phantom ball with the offensive linemen yelling, “Fumble!”

Some coaches would get laughed out of the room for an idea like that. Can you imagine Shane Waldron explaining it?

But credibility makes all the difference. The Lions have been a top-five offense in all three of Johnson’s seasons as coordinator. It’s why he’ll be the league’s most coveted head-coaching candidate this offseason.

“We think every play that he has is going to work,” wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown said. “Ben’s smart. He’s watching tape, seeing tendencies, things that can work, so the plays he draws up, there’s a reason behind it.”

St. Brown knew it clicked when he heard the “ooh” from the crowd. “Perfect,” he thought as he ran his route, then turned to see his team celebrating a touchdown and a 34-14 lead. Goff called the play “the old stumble bum.”

He also noted that Johnson had called the play earlier in the game but had the sense to scrap it because the Bears presented a problematic defensive formation. He has a reputation for creativity, maximizing his personnel and calling the right play at the right moment — all of which have eluded the Bears.

Timing is everything, of course. The Bears just hope they’re in the right place at the right time to lure Johnson after he rebuffed several teams last year. He raved about quarterback Caleb Williams last week. Maybe he’ll be so enticed that he’ll deal with concerns about general manager Ryan Poles’ job security and the many roster upgrades this team needs.

Johnson was the favorite for this job even before Eberflus got fired, with Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury right behind him. Brown got a chance — albeit a thorny one in taking over a crumbling team — to put himself on their level but hasn’t made anything better while going 0-3 and losing by a combined score of 102-42.

“The guys continue to battle and keep fighting, but it’s not good enough,” Brown said. “We’ve got to coach it better, demand a better result.”

It’s way too late for that. The Bears are on a nine-game losing streak that stands second in franchise history.

If anything, Brown’s promotion has raised concerns about whether the Bears were wise to mess with a coaching structure that worked for Williams and their offense when he was offensive coordinator.

The Bears have started out down 24-0, 13-0 and 20-0 in his games as coach. The Lions scored on six of their first seven possessions.

“We’ve got plays that we want to get off the sheet pretty early that we’re intent on, and [Johnson] does a good job setting up plays later on by doing that,” Goff said. “He’s very aware of how to start fast.”

Johnson’s résumé is strong. His references are excellent. And he knocked his first job interview out of the park.