Ben Johnson's Packers Trash Talk Isn't Costing the Bears, No Matter What Mark Schlereth Says

Ben Johnson has injected a dose of attitude and confidence into the Chicago Bears' locker room. That spark has helped them develop into a contender, as they won 12 games and were a play away from being a game away from the Super Bowl in his first year on the job.

However, not everyone has bought into what Johnson is selling. Specifically, NFL analyst Mark Schlereth believes he's given opponents some bulletin board material since becoming the Bears' head coach.

"As a broadcaster and a guy who does podcasts, don't ever change, but just understand the player in me, I would smack you upside the head because you're writing checks that I have to cash," Schlereth said on The OG Football Show podcast. "You don't have to go out there and block anybody. You don't have to go out there and tackle anybody. You don't have to do anything.

"We're simple creatures as players, and that motivation is something that resonates with us. And so you are doing stuff that's putting your team in a tougher position to win."

Schlereth seems to be referring to a handful of soundbites Johnson gave about the Green Bay Packers. Those are really the only instances where Johnson said anything that can even be interpreted as a slight to an opponent.

He's also blatantly incorrect.

Johnson has done nothing wrong by leaning into Bears/Packers rivalry

Ben Johnson and Matt LaFleur shaking hands — Oct 11, 2026; Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA; Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur and Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson shake hands following the game at Lambeau Field. Mandatory Credit: Wm. Glasheen USAToday Network via IMAGN images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Bears and Packers have been rivals for 106 years. They have the NFL's most storied rivalry, and it should be embraced. That's what Johnson has done since he arrived at Halas Hall, when he threw a not-so-subtle jab at LaFleur by saying he enjoys beating him twice a year.

“To be quite frank with you, I kinda enjoyed beating Matt LaFleur twice a year.”

BEN JOHNSON COMIN’ IN HOT pic.twitter.com/vBxiEriFRk
— The Coachspeak Index (@CoachspeakIndex) January 22, 2025

To Johnson's credit, he stayed true to that promise in his first year on the job. The Bears went 2-1 over their three matchups against Green Bay last season.

Gone are the days of the Bears being nothing more than a punching bag against their division rivals, and Johnson deserves more credit than anyone for that fact. The days of Green Bay and Chicago's coach yucking it up courtside at a basketball game are also in the rearview mirror, and most Bears fans are more than okay with that trade-off.

Ben Johnson claps back at the criticism over the handshake, or lack thereof.

“We know how big it is when Chicago plays Green Bay… This is a rivalry, and the city of Chicago and Green Bay needs it to be a rivalry.”

Fair response. Division rivalries are meant to have edge and… pic.twitter.com/EUdHIPz6cg
— Preme Football (@premefootball) January 12, 2026

Based on Schlereth's remarks, you'd think the Bears wouldn't have a win against Green Bay under Johnson's leadership. You'd think they suffered four blowouts against their hated division rival (newsflash, Schlereth) since his flight landed at O'Hare.

That's not the case, though. The Bears are now 2-2 against Green Bay since Johnson, and their only uninspiring loss came on Sunday when they were missing their star quarterback.

Speaking of uninspiring, Johnson's trash talk riled the Packers up so much that they scored a whopping six points in the second half of their win-or-go-home clash in last year's wild card round. Yes, the Packers looked motivated in their 31-7 victory. We're not underselling a great performance.

They might've been motivated by being home underdogs against Chicago for the first time since 2006. Or the fact that the vast majority were in the Bears' favor despite having a backup QB under center. Or they might've just been ready to prove they're not really the bottom-feeder team that they looked like over their first four games.

Schlereth's comments are, at best, a clear case of recency bias, and, at worst, an extremely poor attempt to cash in on a spicy hot take he hasn't heard anyone mention before. Either way, his opinion is misinformed.

Add us as a preferred source on Google