Let’s be real: when Ben Johnson left the Detroit Lions after the 2024 season to take over as head coach of the Chicago Bears, everyone expected some kind of regression. Losing one of the most creative offensive minds in football was bound to sting. Still, eight games into the John Morton experiment, something about this offense just feels… off.

Statistically, the numbers don’t look bad. Detroit still sits at No. 2 in the league in scoring, averaging 29.9 points per game. But the eye test tells a different story — one that Amon-Ra St. Brown summed up with a single word: flow.“For us as an offense, the word that sticks out to me is flow,” St. Brown said on 97.1 The Ticket. “I feel like we haven’t been in a flow all year… rhythm, execution, as a whole.”

A Noticeable Step Back

Under Ben Johnson in 2024, the Lions averaged 415.7 total yards per game, second-best in the NFL. This year, under Morton’s direction, that figure has slipped to 350.8 yards, ranking 11th.

The aerial attack has been uneven, and the once-dominant ground game isn’t the same — down from 149.4 rushing yards per game to 125.1. That’s not disastrous, but it’s enough to show something’s missing. What used to be a physical, rhythm-based offense now looks hesitant.

There are flashes of the old Lions here and there — the games against the Ravens and Bears come to mind — but even then, the team doesn’t seem to control the pace like before. Jared Goff looks less assured, and Dan Campbell’s frustration is visible on the sideline.

Déjà Vu for Dan Campbell

If this sounds familiar, that’s because Campbell has been in this situation before. Back in 2021, when the offense sputtered under Anthony Lynn, Campbell didn’t wait until the offseason to act. He stepped in as the play-caller midyear and later moved on from Lynn entirely.

At the time, Campbell explained,“It just wasn’t a fit. We never found our groove or our rhythm.”

Now, years later, St. Brown is echoing the same sentiment — talking about flow instead of rhythm, but the meaning’s identical. The Lions’ offense isn’t suffering from a lack of talent; it’s a lack of identity. Whatever you call it — rhythm, groove, or flow — Detroit doesn’t have it right now.

 The Washington Proving Ground

That’s what makes Sunday’s matchup with the Washington Commanders so critical for Morton.

Washington’s defense has been one of the league’s worst, ranking 28th in total defense and giving up nearly 378 yards per game. If the Lions can’t get rolling against this group, when will they?

Because after Washington, the schedule gets brutal:

Week 11: at Philadelphia Eagles — one of the NFL’s toughest defensive fronts.

Thanksgiving Day: vs. Green Bay Packers — a divisional clash that could shape the NFC North race.

If Detroit’s offense stalls again, Campbell might not wait around for it to fix itself. He’s proven before that he’ll take charge if it means shaking the team out of a funk.

A Race Against Time

The Lions don’t need to tear everything down — they just need to rediscover the offensive rhythm that made them so dangerous a year ago. But patience is running thin, and Morton’s window to right the ship is closing fast.

If the offense fails to show real improvement against Washington, John Morton’s days as Detroit’s offensive coordinator could be numbered. Because if the Lions can’t find that “flow” St. Brown keeps talking about soon, Dan Campbell may hand the play sheet to someone else — or take it himself.