Ben Johnson made the Lions OL so scary that they were double covered by touchdown

Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson is widely regarded as the top head coaching candidate in this NFL hiring cycle.

And beyond the Lions’ clear offensive dominance, every now and then, we get to see something more nuanced about why teams like the Chicago Bears and Tom Brady (cough, cough) are so interested in the brilliant coach’s services.

First, Johnson has been able to make trick plays with Lions offensive linemen who catch passes so menacingly that opposing defenses are forced to respect them as real threats. On Saturday night, right before an electric one-handed touchdown by Sam LaPorta, the Washington Commanders simply had to take extra offensive lineman Dan Skipper seriously as a receiver.

So much so that linebackers Bobby Wagner and Frankie Luvu double-covered Skipper, giving LaPorta and Jared Goff a clean receiving/throwing lane. Just look at no. 54 and no. 4 run with the lions’ no. 70 below.

It’s too funny:

If you wanted more blatant evidence of Johnson’s coaching credentials, you won’t come across a better game than this. Whichever team gets Johnson as their head coach soon will be very lucky.