Vikings’ Kevin O’Connell gets real on impending matchups with Ben Johnson, Bears
Kevin O’Connell expects Ben Johnson to turn the Chicago Bears around quickly
Although the postseason wasn’t too kind to any of the three teams from the NFC North who qualified for the Playoffs, it wasn’t that long ago that most around the NFL believed that the league’s ‘Black and Blue Division’ was the best in all of football. The Detroit Lions, Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers combined for 40 wins in the regular season, and don’t forget, before a devastating loss via Hail Mary and complete coaching collapse, the Chicago Bears were 4-2 and looking like a playoff team.
This is all to say that we could see much of the same from the NFC North in 2025, especially if new Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson makes the kind of immediate impact in the Windy City that many expect he will. Johnson is already acclimated with Chicago’s divisional foes, having spent the last three years as the offensive coordinator of the Detroit Lions. But that means everyone around the NFC North, Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell included, is familiar with Johnson too.
If you don’t want to take Kevin O’Connell at his word, here’s all the proof you need that Ben Johnson is capable of causing the Vikings, and everyone else for that matter, big problems. Since taking over as the Vikings head coach before the 2022 season, O’Connell is 5-1 against the Bears. Conversely, since 2022, the Vikings are just 1-5 against Ben Johnson and the Lions. And Detroit has scored 30 points or more in all five of their wins over the Vikes.
Sonny Giuliano is an experienced sports writer for ClutchPoints who has been covering the NFL, NCAA Football, NBA, and NCAA Basketball for well over a decade. Sonny received his degree from Florida Gulf Coast University.
