Bears’ Ben Johnson Turns Up Heat on Simmering Feud With Matt LaFleur

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Chicago Bears coach Ben Johnson made it a point to throw a bit of a sucker punch at Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur during his introductory news conference.

On Sunday, about 50 weeks later, he seemed to take another jab at LaFleur.

The Packers lost to the Minnesota Vikings 16-3 on Sunday. Rather than try to break a losing streak, LaFleur stepped off the gas and coasted over the finish line of the regular season by resting most of his top players.

Johnson took the opposite approach. He pushed the pedal to the metal, with his top players going the distance in a 19-16 loss to the Lions.

“We’re quickly turning the page here,” Johnson told reporters after the game. “Everyone is disappointed. I appreciate their effort.”

Then came the jab at LaFleur.

“Some teams, they rest their starters. We don’t. We play football,” he said.

“We felt like it was really important that we were playing our best ball here today, and we didn’t get that job done. We’re quickly turning that page, and now we’ve got a home game coming on up, and there’s a way to win this game, this next game, and that’s what we’re going to be solely focused on.”

The Packers weren’t the only team that rested its starters. So did the Philadelphia Eagles, with coach Nick Sirianni turning down an opportunity to move up to the No. 2 seed in favor of making sure the likes of Jalen Hurts, Saquon Barkley, A.J. Brown, Cooper DeJean, Zack Baun and the starting offensive line will be ready for the playoffs. That’s the same approach he took last year, when the Eagles won the Super Bowl.

But, who knows, maybe Johnson knows better.

Green Bay is the fourth team in NFL history to enter the playoffs with a four-game losing streak. LaFleur discarded the potential of building some momentum in favor of getting his roster as healthy as possible after not getting a break since the Week 5 bye.

Green Bay Packers quarterback Clayton Tune (6) is sacked by Minnesota Vikings safety Theo Jackson. | Dan Powers/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

“I think we did the right thing today in regard to – and we’ll see, time will tell – but I feel better about this certainly than I did a year ago after the game,” LaFleur said after the game, thinking back to last year’s Week 18 loss to the Bears in which receiver Christian Watson suffered a torn ACL.

“It was a double whammy when we lose the game and you lose a key player for us to go into that run. I thought this was the best decision.”

Having lost Tucker Kraft, Devonte Wyatt and Micah Parsons to season-ending injuries, LaFleur’s roster can’t withstand much more carnage. By keeping Jordan Love on the sideline, giving Josh Jacobs and Zach Tom another week to get healthy and by letting other veteran starters heal from bumps and bruises, the Packers should be in as good of shape as possible for what they hope will be a long playoff run.

“I definitely think that was a major driving force in regards to the decision to try to keep out as many guys as we could,” LaFleur said of last year’s finale. “I talked about it earlier this week. You have 55 spots because you got a 53 plus two elevations. Certainly, some guys were injured going into this game that couldn’t play, anyways. So, there’s not too many guys that you can truly protect. And we tried to protect as many as we could.”

The 2024 Steelers, the 1999 Lions and the 1986 Jets are the only teams to limp into the playoffs on a four-game losing streak. The Steelers trailed 21-0 at halftime at Baltimore last year and lost 28-14. The Jets, who lost five in a row after a 10-1 start, blew out the Chiefs in the wild-card round before losing in overtime at Cleveland.

“I think our guys are excited,” LaFleur said. “They’re excited for the challenge. They’re excited for the opportunity. And that’s how we’re going to attack it, and that’s our mindset. Because right now, when you get to the postseason, everybody’s zero and zero. It’s a, I mean, it’s a clean slate, so we have an opportunity, and that’s all you can ask for.”

The Packers were stuck at the No. 7 seed, regardless of Sunday’s outcome. The Bears backed into the No. 2 because the Eagles, like the Packers, essentially punted on Week 18 under the belief that fresh legs and healthy bodies mean more in January than the “We play football” approach taken by Johnson.

Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson walks along the sideline during their game against the Cleveland Browns. | David Banks-Imagn Images

“We’ve got the No. 2 seed,” Johnson said. “We've got a home game next week, and we've got a new season on the horizon. Our guys should be reinvigorated by that. I know I certainly am. I'm looking forward to the opportunity and all that that entails and the opportunity to go 1-0 this next week.”

Before previous matchups, both coaches downplayed the grudge-match angle, even following their brisk postgame handshakes.

Saturday’s playoff game will be the high-stakes rubber match after the teams split the regular-season series.

“Good opponent. I think we're fairly evenly matched,” Johnson said. “Got a lot of respect for how well they're coached. I have a lot of respect for the talent level that they have in that building. I would expect it to be another exciting game.”

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