Repeating what Ben Johnson did with the Detroit Lions is a nearly impossible task.

It’s no stretch to say that Johnson, the former Lions offensive coordinator who is now head coach of the Chicago Bears, was better than anyone at scheming up plays and radioing them in to his quarterback at the correct times. Johnson wasn’t without flaw, or even above criticism — having a receiver throw the ball while down 10 points in the fourth quarter of a playoff game was certainly questionable — but he almost always had the right answer.

No other offense in the NFL averaged more yards per game (394.8) from 2022-24 than the Johnson-led Lions, and the Buffalo Bills (172) were the only team close to matching the number of touchdowns Detroit scored (182) over that stretch.

The Lions enjoyed the league’s best offense for the last three seasons. There is no debating that.

Now, it’s up to John Morton to keep that going.

Morton, along with new defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard, was officially hired at the end of January. He returns to the Lions, for whom he was a senior offensive consultant during Johnson’s first season as offensive coordinator in 2022, after spending the last two years as the passing game coordinator in Denver.

The Broncos stumbled to an 8-9 record in head coach Sean Payton’s first season with the team in 2023, but they won 10 games and reached the postseason with rookie quarterback Bo Nix in 2024. Nix wasn’t an MVP finalist like Detroit’s Jared Goff, but he finished third (behind Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels and Las Vegas Raiders tight end Brock Bowers) in the Offensive Rookie of the Year race.

Portions of Nix’s early-career success — he completed 66.3% of his passes for 3,775 yards and 29 touchdowns while throwing 12 interceptions in his first season — can be attributed to the scheme. Payton called plays, but it’s safe to assume, given his title, that Morton played an integral role in creating and deploying the passing attack each week.

Nix had 171 pass attempts off of play-action in 2024, according to Pro Football Focus. That ranked in the top five, with Justin Herbert (174), Patrick Mahomes (176) and Matthew Stafford (180) each finishing close by. Goff, meanwhile, topped the list at 213.

If Morton liked using play-action strategies with Nix, who had a 70.9 grade from PFF on those attempts, imagine how much he’ll like putting Goff in those same scenarios. Goff had a 90.0 grade on play-action throws, completed 74.2% of his tries and had a 3.2 touchdown-to-interception ratio. He also averaged 10 yards per attempt on those tosses, which was fourth in the NFL.

Something else Morton and the Broncos did more than almost anyone else was dial up deep shots. Nix had 77 pass attempts in which his target was 20 or more yards down the field. Buffalo’s Josh Allen (87), who just won his first MVP award and might have the best arm talent in the league, was the only quarterback with more.

Nix’s mobility allowed Denver to move the pocket and buy time (allowing receivers to get down the field) more than Detroit has been or will be able to do with Goff, but there’s likely a happy medium to be reached. Goff had 48 attempts at or beyond 20 yards last season, which ranked 22nd. With the emergence of wide receiver Jameson Williams, there may be some untapped potential for Morton to explore.Morton’s offense won’t be a repeat of what he helped build in Denver — for starters, Detroit’s running backs are among the league’s best and must be leaned on — or a spitting image of Johnson’s scheme, though there will presumably be some crossover.

Lions head coach Dan Campbell said Goff’s opinion would be valued in the search for Johnson’s replacement, and Goff became an expert in his former offensive coordinator’s system while posting the best numbers of his career. Considering that, and how Goff has prior experience with Morton in 2022, it’s safe to assume the quarterback sees himself fitting nicely into Morton’s plans.