The Lions were humbled by the Packers in the season opener, with their former offensive coordinator coming to town in Week 2. Ben Johnson and the Bears could put the Lions in a serious hole in the NFC North.
The familiarity between Campbell and Johnson means that "we're on even playing ground," said Campbell. As in, neither coach has a clear advantage over the other.
"It’s the same thing. He knows what we’re about, we know what he’s about and because of that, you’re going to play that game a little bit. But the game doesn’t matter if you don’t master the basics inside the game. That’s what we have to get back to," said Campbell. "We have to worry about ourselves right now and just home in on the little things."
The Lions were beaten by the Packers in every way. The 27-13 final score makes it sound closer than it really was. Detroit's offense looked especially lost without Johnson and two veterans up front in Frank Ragnow and Kevin Zeitler. The Lions finished with fewer yards per play in John Morton's first game as coordinator than than they did in any game in Johnson's three seasons calling plays.
Campbell and Johnson are close, going back to their time coaching for the Dolphins in 2015. Campbell kept Johnson on staff when he took over the Lions in 2021, promoted him to passing game coordinator midway through that season and to offensive coordinator the next year.
Asked if it's harder to root for Johnson's success as the head coach of a division rival, Campbell said, "Listen, Ben is my friend. He’s always going to be my friend. But nothing about that is going to change."
"We’re going in and getting ready to play Chicago. We’re going to win this game. We have to," Campbell said. "We have to find a way to clean things up and do what we gotta do. And they’re going to try to do the same thing, just like every week."
Johnson's offense in Detroit was known for being crisp and well-detailed. Morton's offense was sloppy in game one. The interior of the offensive line was a particular problem, where both Tate Ratledge and Christian Mahogany showed their inexperience and vet Graham Glasgow struggled in his return to center.
Campbell pointed to missed assignments and miscommunications on both sides of the ball, which "tells me we had too much on their plate, so that’s my fault," he said.
"Youth can play a part in it," Campbell said. "We had some young guys that struggled yesterday. I certainly didn’t think it would be the best performance they would have all year, but it wasn’t good enough. Good news is, there’s no where to go but up, and up they will go."
Week 2 is not a must-win for the Lions. But it feels like one given the way they played in Week 1 and the opponents that loom on the other side of the Bears. Campbell knows the Lions need a better performance, and fully expects his team to deliver against a familiar foe.