‘I was just so mad’ – Amon-Ra St. Brown discusses bold Ben Johnson trick play that signaled Lions’ demise vs Commanders
The Detroit Lions' 2024 season ended in a thrilling shootout against the Washington Commanders.
After going 15-2 in the regular season to earn a bye, the Lions were many people's pick to win the Super Bowl.
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But Dan Campbell's team came up short against the Commanders, going down 45-31 after turning the ball over five times.
One of those came as offensive coordinator Ben Johnson - now the head coach of the Chicago Bears - dialled up a trick play when down by 10 early in the fourth quarter.
Quarterback Jared Goff fed the ball to Amon-Ra St. Brown, who lobbed it to fellow wide receiver Jameson Williams.
He attempted to find running back Jahmyr Gibbs with a risky pass which was picked off by Washington.
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Amon-Ra discussed the game on his podcast with brother Equanimeous, who spent the season on the New Orleans Saints' practice squad.
The Lions star asked his sibling for his thoughts on the 'tough game' and he didn't hold back.
"Ben Johnson calls that f****** trick play where Jamo throws it," Equanimeous said. ";Jamo is a great receiver, but why is he throwing the ball? I was so mad."
Amon-Ra didn't comment on the play, changing the subject to his team's energy and insisting that minus the turnovers, the offense was firing.
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The Lions are set to lose a lot of talent this offseason.
Johnson has moved to the division rival Bears and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn is tipped to follow him out of the door.
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Amon-Ra is a huge fan of Johnson and doesn't blame him for making the step up.
“Obviously, I love Ben. One of my favorite coaches that I’ve ever had, I would say for sure," he said. "He’s smart, he’s one of the hardest working coaches that I’ve been around.
"But obviously, I would want to have him in Detroit forever, but that’s not the reality of things. Other teams are going to approach him. He’s going to want to -- I feel like every coach, not every coach, but a lot of coaches want to be a head coach at one point in their lives if they can.
"This is the best opportunity, I think, for him to leave. If he didn’t leave this year, I feel like teams would say, 'Oh, what’s wrong with him? He had the most points.'
"We had the highest-scoring offense in the league. We lost early, unfortunately, but I feel like this was the year for him to leave and he took it. So I don’t blame him.”
Johnson has taken a lot of flak after conducting a virtual interview with the Bears ahead of the Commanders showdown.
But Amon-Ra defended his former mentor, who he now enjoys a friendly rivalry with.
“Everyone on Twitter — the Lions fans f****** hating him, talking about, ‘He didn’t prepare for this. He was taking interviews on the bye week.’ Trust me. I know Ben. He was as locked in as can be for that game,” he said.
“I told him, I said, ‘For two times a year, Ben, we’re going to f*** you up,'
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“He goes, ‘I’ma f*** you up.’ I said, ‘Okay, we’ll see.’ I told him I know all the plays he likes to run. I know all his tendencies. But we were just going back and forth messing around. It’s funny. He’s like, ‘If I want to be the best, I’ve got to beat the best, right?’
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“I love Ben. I’m happy for him, happy for his family, his kids. I love his kids, wife is amazing.”
If Johnson can get the best out of Bears quarterback Caleb Williams, this could be a divisional rivalry for the ages.
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