Perhaps it was some sort of omen that the first play of the game was a penalty?

Chicago Bears kicker Cairo Santos sent the ball into the air to open the game, and the kickoff promptly sailed out of bounds.

Cue penalty No. 1. That was the first of eight flags the Bears collected Sunday. It’s better than the 12 penalties the Bears had Monday, but barely.

The Bears had more issues beyond flags, though. All of it added up to 52-21 butt kicking at Ford Field. Ben Johnson’s old friends did to him what they did to plenty of teams the past two seasons.

"You lose a game like that, man, it's a kick in the teeth," Johnson said. "Nothing about that feels good."

The Bears have felt this before. The Lions smoked them last December behind Johnson’s offensive genius. Now, however, Johnson is on the o

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