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Ben Johnson Had a Much More Respectful Handshake With Sean McVay After Bears’ Loss

Andy Nesbitt|
Ben Johnson and the Bears had their season come to an end with a loss to the Rams on Sunday night.
Ben Johnson and the Bears had their season come to an end with a loss to the Rams on Sunday night. | David Banks-Imagn Images

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Ben Johnson and the Bears had their season come to an end Sunday night with a 20-17 overtime loss at home to the Rams. It was a heartbreaking finish for Chicago after Caleb Williams threw one of the most ridiculous touchdown passes in the final minute of the fourth quarter to tie it up.

All eyes were on Johnson after the Rams' game-winning kick as fans wondered how he and Sean McVay would handle their postgame handshake. That curiosity stemmed from how Johnson handled his handshake with Packers head coach Matt LaFleur after beating Green Bay in the wild-card round.

Lots of people didn't like Johnson's saucy behavior in that very awkward interaction. People in McVay's coaching tree were reportedly some of those folks so the postgame handshake on Sunday night became a highly anticipated event.

Well, Johnson and McVay found each other after the game and this was a much more respectful interaction than what we saw after the Bears-Packers game.

Here was Johnson's much different moment with LaFleur after their wild-card game:

While the Bears and their fans have to be devastated after their loss to the Rams, Johnson's first year in Chicago has to be deemed a success. He led the team to an 11-6 record in the regular season, they won their first NFC North title since 2018 and then they beat their biggest rival in the first round of the playoffs.

It will be interesting to see how they build off it next season, because expectations are going to be high in Chicago.

McVay and the Rams, meanwhile, move on to face the Seahawks in the NFC championship game this Sunday night in Seattle.

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Andy Nesbitt
ANDY NESBITT

Andy Nesbitt is the assistant managing editor of audience engagement at Sports Illustrated. He works closely with the Breaking and Trending News team to shape SI’s daily coverage across all sports. A 20-year veteran of the sports media business, he has worked for Fox Sports, For the Win, The Boston Globe and NBC Sports, having joined SI in February 2023. Nesbitt is a golf fanatic who desperately wants to see the Super Bowl played on a Saturday night.

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