Amon-Ra St. Brown had his third straight season of over 1,000 receiving yards and was named first-team All-Pro. He had signed a four-year, $120.01 million contract extension before the start of the campaign and proved to everyone why he deserved to get paid top-of-the-market money.
Unfortunately, his personal success didn’t translate to the team’s success. The Detroit Lions suffered a surprising loss in the Divisional Round to the Washington Commanders, and some of their fans blamed offensive coordinator Ben Johnson for the loss.
Johnson was recently announced as the Chicago Bears’ new head coach, which led to more speculation about the OC not being fully focused for the game against the Commanders. However, St. Brown doesn’t think that was the reason for the team’s loss, and he recently defended Johnson.
Amon-Ra St. Brown Defended His Former Coordinator
In a conversation on “The St. Brown Podcast,” the Lions’ star wide receiver addressed the complaints of Lions fans about Johnson.
“Everyone on Twitter, the Lions fans, fu***ng hating him, talking about he didn’t prepare for this, you know, he was taking interviews in the bye week,” St. Brown said. “Trust me, I know Ben, he was as locked in as he can be for that game.”
“So, I’m happy for him,” St. Brown added. “I talked to him, we had exit meetings on Sunday, talk to him on Sunday, and obviously he was, you know, devastated with the loss, but he told me, you know, he doesn’t know what he’s gonna do yet.”
St. Brown mentioned that, as of Sunday, Johnson was not certain about the decision he would make. The Lions receiver revealed his former OC had offers from these three teams:
Johnson ultimately accepted the Bears’ offer, and he will remain in the NFC North to coach Caleb Williams and Co. He will have to go against the Lions at least twice every season, and it will be a great experience for everyone involved.
Some Lions fans will be angry at Johnson for accepting to coach in the same division, but based on the offers he had, Chicago was the best destination. The Bears already have a promising young quarterback, a good defense, and talented receivers like DJ Moore and Rome Odunze.
Lions Fans React to St. Brown’s Comments on Ben Johnson
Lions fans on X (formerly known as Twitter) had mixed responses to St. Brown coming in defense of Johnson. Some believe he was actually distracted by the head coaching interviews, urging the NFL to stop the practice of allowing coaches to get involved in the practice until the season is over for all the teams.
Here are some of the reactions:
We love this team but Dadgummit that was shocking
— Sam Rothstein (@Rothstein420) January 22, 2025
“Bulls**t,” said a fan in response to the Lions WR.
Another fan added, “I call BS. The NFL needs to change interviewing while a team is still playing! It’s human nature to be distracted, and it clearly showed!!”
You can say whatever you want but the fact is he knew he was going before Saturday's game. The NFL should ban conversations with other teams until the season ends. Change my mind
— Scott Rabin (@scottrayUT) January 22, 2025
“5 turnovers. 5. That has nothing to do with how locked in the coach is,” wrote a fan in support of Johnson.
“Happy for Ben & expected him to take an HC job, but did it have to be in the division?” said another fan.
It really was our defensive injuries that finally caught up with us. We needed a 50 burger on offense to beat them. You aren't winning many post season games that way
— TechhX 🏳️🌈 (@TechhX) January 22, 2025
Johnson should ideally not be blamed for the Lions’ loss to the Commanders, as the team was able to score 31 points and have 521 yards from scrimmage on offense. The three interceptions from Jared Goff and one from Jameson Williams were not something the OC could have planned for, as a similar game plan had worked for the Lions throughout the season.
Detroit’s defense deserves most of the blame for the team’s loss in the Divisional Round. However, defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn couldn’t have been asked to do much more as impactful players like Aidan Hutchinson, Alim McNeill, and Marcus Davenport were all out injured.
It will be tough for the Lions to build on this season’s success as they have lost both of their coordinators, but the players trust head coach Dan Campbell, and he will make sure to get the right people to coach the team next season.