Bear Digest

Are Bears catching Matt LaFleur when Packers coach is most vulnerable?

The whole Ben Johnson-Matt LaFleur rivalry thing might be overblown but there is a stat this week that may be pertinent since it's a situation both teams and coaches face.
Gene Chamberlain|
Matt LaFleur high-fives Jordan Love after a TD against the Bears last season.
Matt LaFleur high-fives Jordan Love after a TD against the Bears last season. | Mark Hoffman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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The Ben Johnson and Matt LaFleur rivalry started when the new Bears coach pronounced it a thing with his hiring, after being asked why he chose to stay in the NFC North.

"And to be quite frank with you, I kind of enjoyed beating Matt LaFleur twice a year," he so famously said.

It's more of a Packers thing with the Lions from three years, though, and not a Ben Johnson-Bears thing. That page is to be written. Johnson's Lions only did that sweep two times. In 2023, they split two games.

Besides, now it's probably more of a case this week of Ben Johnson against Jeff Hafley, the Packers defensive coordinator—although the Bears coach doesn't really doesn't see it this way.

"I think you know your opponent," Johnson said Friday. "As an offensive play-caller, I always put in my head who the defensive play-caller is and try to figure out some tendencies and things like that.

"I don't know that it's necessarily ... we're not the ones playing. I don't think  you can put it in that kind of box."

Johnson won't go anywhere near hisquote about beating LaFleur at this point, although he was given a chance at times this week.

He does admit to a competitive coaching fire, though.

"I think most individuals in this league, whether you're a player or a coach, you're always looking to prove yourself," Johnson said. "Year-in, year-out, things are forgotten so quickly, and so each year you're kind of trying to show that you've still got it.

"My role's a little bit different. I don't compete on game day from a physical standpoint. I just try to do the best I can to help our guys out to put them in the best positions. I live vicariously through them is how I see it. I want to see them do well and succeed. I see them work so hard over the course of the week and over the course of the season, over the course of the year when you include offseason, that you want nothing more for it to pay off on game day for them and they get the respect they deserve."

Too much time for LaFleur?

In this week's game against the Packers, one unusual stat exists if past matchups between the two coaces are really irrelevant.

LaFleur has been an excellent coach, except in the playoffs. Maybe he simply hasn't had the right team or situation yet. That explains 3-5.  At least he got them there. The Bears could only wish that happened in the past.

However, a really strange statistic is that while LaFleur has an outstanding overall record of 78-41-1 (.654) and 75-36-1 (.674) in the regular season, when he has more than a week to prepare his team for a game, his numbers are not nearly as good. This is especially the case over the last four seasons.

The Packers are 18-11 when this happens, including a couple of playoff games. That's a .621 winning percentage. Decnt.

Also, after his first two years, they have been only 9-8 with an extra day or more to prepare, and just .500 (6-6) in the last four seasons.

This year, they are 1-2 and the one win was when they played against the Bengals. Joe Flacco was traded there that week and had only five days to prepare in a new offense. He still had Cincinnati within a field goal after three quarters.

Is LaFleur better without so much time to prepare? This week the Packers had the mini-bye, just like the Bears did. The Bears' extra time was a day shorter but it's still extra time.

Ben Johnson with extra time

Johnson has had only one game with extra time to prepare and that was when they beat the Commanders 25-24. This is his second. The first one seems so long ago now, and in a sense it was because the Bears didn't establish their running game until that game.

Johnson had extra time as a coordinator with the Lions. Detroit went 11-4 in those games, including their playoff loss to Washington. So Johnson is 12-4 as a head coach or coordinator with extra time to prepare (.750).

Draw conclusions from that as you will.

The only one that counts is how things go in Lambeau Field on Sunday because, as Johnson says, the coaches don’t really line up and play each other—even if LaFleur might like that after what Johnson said in the offseason.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.