Why this Lions defender felt ‘betrayed’ by Ben Johnson and made him pay in Sunday’s blowout win

DETROIT -- The Detroit Lions avoided giving in to the elephant in the room that was Ben Johnson all week.

But after a standout performance against the Chicago Bears, safety Brian Branch didn’t hold back about the defense feeling “very motivated” by the personal feelings of “betrayal.”

“We knew coming into this game that this is personal, really, all these games are personal,” Branch said after the 52-21 win. “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.”

Branch was asked to clarify about his and the team’s feelings of betrayal, saying Johnson could have gone anywhere else. Instead, he chose to stay in the NFC North,