Brian Branch on Ben Johnson: He could've gone anywhere, but he's got to see us again

Lions safety Brian Branch said after Sunday’s 52-21 win over the Bears that the team still loves Ben Johnson, but he also made it clear that no one in Detroit was happy to see their former offensive coordinator become the head coach of a divisional rival.

Branch noted in his postgame press conference that Johnson “could have went anywhere” as a hot commodity in head coaching searches over the last couple of seasons, but made one that guaranteed he’d be seeing his former team at least twice a year. Branch said Sunday’s thorough beating was an illustration of just how the Lions felt about that call.

“We knew coming into this game that this is personal, really, all these games are personal,” Branch said. “But this one was just, we felt like we’ve been, you know, betrayed from the staff to the players. We love Ben. We still love Ben. He’s a great coach. He’s a great mastermind. But yeah, it was time to get after them.”

Johnson and the Bears will get another chance to face the Lions in Chicago later this season, but the more immediate need is for Johnson to pull the right levers to get the Bears a win against anybody after an 0-2 start that’s been short on signs that things are getting better for the Bears.