Ben Johnson was exactly six minutes into his introductory Bears press conference when he turned his attention to the NFC North — and the coaches in it.
“Dan Campbell, Kevin O’Connell — talk about two guys who are up for coach of the year awards as the season ends here,” he said in January. “To be quite frank with you, I kind of enjoyed beating Matt LaFleur twice a year.”
On Monday, Johnson — who swept the Packers as a Lions assistant last year — was asked why he felt so compelled to poke at the Packers on his first day on the job.
“It’s a big week,” he said. “We know how important this rivalry is. So, just wanted to address that.”
LaFleur didn’t. Asked Monday if he’d given any thought to Johnson’s comments, he demurred.
“Not really, no,” he said.
Johnson’s first-ever Packers Week — and first of two in a three-week span — comes at a critical moment for the Bears. For the first time since the end of the 2006 regular season, they’re the top team in the NFC. Lose on Sunday, though, and they won’t even be the top team in the NFC North.
Days after going shirtless and viral, Johnson is one of the NFL’s most captivating characters. Beating the Packers, though, would do more to dictate his legacy — and his ability to win his own division — than almost anything he could do while wearing the script “B” hat. Chairman George McCaskey certainly believes that — he spent Monday’s rookie meeting teaching newcomers the history of the rivalry.
“It’s one of those that lives in NFL history,” Johnson said. “It goes back for a long time. Two of the most winning franchises in the NFL … It’s a big one.”
LaFleur doesn’t lose many of them. He’s 11-1 against his rival, losing last year’s season finale when quarterback Jordan Love and receiver Christian Watson were lost to injury.
Johnson’s first head-to-head matchup with LaFleur is one of the compelling parts of a captivating game Sunday at Lambeau Field. Their budding rivalry could dictate the NFC North for a decade.
For the first time since 2020, there’s more than just pride at stake for the Bears.
“I think it’s cool for the fans, certainly, when you have two good teams,” LaFleur said.
Publicly and privately, the Packers head coach was annoyed by Johnson’s initial comments. This wasn’t a case of casual friends — or even acquaintances — who had become friendly rivals. The two had practically no relationship with each other.
LaFleur theorized that Johnson was pandering to his new Bears bosses and fans. At the NFL’s annual meeting — where the two briefly shook hands — he said he wasn’t going to lose any sleep over the comment. On Day 2 of the NFL draft, he took a subtle shot at Johnson’s cockiness, telling ESPN host Pat McAfee that the Bears “got a good football coach — as he said himself.”
LaFleur might have been annoyed, but the Bears’ players weren’t.
“We loved that,” defensive end Austin Booker said. “That’s a head coach that we all love playing for. He has a great mindset, just like us. A killer mindset just like us. That’s something we respect. We play even harder for a head coach like that.”
Tight end Cole Kmet was sitting just feet from Johnson when he swiped at LaFleur in January — in a player’s seating section next to receivers Rome Odunze and DJ Moore and quarterback Caleb Williams.
“Obviously, it gets you pumped up,” he said. “That’s the big rivalry here, not only in the NFC North but I think league-wide. If you look across sports in general, this is a huge rivalry and a game that means a lot to a lot of people. I think Ben understood that, coming in and taking the job.”
He won’t truly understand it, though, until he runs onto Lambeau Field on Sunday.