Ben Johnson Adds Fangs to 211th Game of Packers-Bears Rivalry

“I’ve got [a] tremendous amount of respect for the coaches and players in this [division], having competed against them for the last six years,” Johnson said. “Dan Campbell and Kevin O’Connell, you’re talking about two guys who are up for Coach of the Year awards as the season ends here

“And, to be quite frank with you, I kind of enjoyed beating Matt LaFleur twice a year.”

For Johnson, he likely was serving up some red meat for fans who’d grown weary of the Packers’ annual neutering of the Bears. For LaFleur, it was a verbal blind-siding from someone with no head-coaching resume and with whom he had no relationship. 

Both coaches, for what it’s worth, downplayed those comments this week.

“Not really, no,” LaFleur said on Monday when asked if he’d thought about what Johnson said.

“We know how important this rivalry is,” Johnson said on Tuesday, “so I just wanted to address that.”

The Bears’ players loved it.

“Obviously, it gets you pumped up,” Bears tight end Cole Kmet told reporters on Tuesday. “That’s the big rivalry here. Not only in the NFC North, but also I think leaguewide. 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 taking the job. This is a game that I look forward to every year. This is one of my favorites, and especially going up there. Obviously, have respect for the opponent, but it’s an honor to be part of this type of game. Looking forward to the two times we get to face them now down the stretch. They both look like they’re going to be very meaningful games for both teams going forward.”

Indeed, the Bears are 9-3. They lead the NFC North and the NFC overall. The Packers are 8-3-1. So, first place in the division will be at stake on Sunday, and it probably will be again when they meet two weeks later.

The records will raise the level of intensity another couple notches.

“I feel like all of the NFC North games have their own little something to them, but the Bears definitely has a different vibe, different energy to it,” Packers receiver Christian Watson said. “Regardless of if one of the teams is 1-9 or if both teams are undefeated, I feel like it’s always going to be the same kind of energy.

“It’s going to be a gritty game, a tough game that’s going to be a four-quarter battle. So, we’ve got to go out there and try to get after them early and, hopefully, it won’t be a close game.”

Most of the games haven’t been close. Dating to Brett Favre’s second start against the Bears in 1992, the Packers are a staggering 51-15. They won more than half of those games – 29, to be exact – by 10-plus points.

LaFleur won his first 11 games against Chicago, with that streak coming to a halt in an odd-ball Week 18 game last year at Lambeau Field. 

LaFleur played his starters but wasn’t fully committed to using them to win the game. Packers quarterback Jordan Love sat out the final two-and-a-half quarters due to injury, the Bears scored a trick-play touchdown on special teams and Jeff Hafley handed the Bears an 18-yard completion on third-and-11 to set up the walk-off field goal.

Still, the Packers have crushed the Bears repeatedly dating to Favre’s ascendance more than 30 years ago. The Packers had won eight in a row at Lambeau Field until last year’s game.

“It’s one of those that I think lives in NFL history,” Johnson said of the rivalry. “It goes back for a long time. Two of the most winning franchises in the NFL, and I think that continues to be the case. So, it’s a big one.”

Johnson’s right. The Packers and Bears are the only teams with more than 800 wins. In fact, Green Bay (818 wins) and Chicago (807) have almost 100 more wins than the third-place Giants (726). Some of that is longevity, to be sure, but the Packers also have the best winning percentage and most championships in NFL history.

The rivalry is the rivalry, but this is a huge game. According to the Elias Sports Bureau via the Packers Dope Sheet, this will mark just the third time in which both teams had played at least 12 games and had a winning percentage of at least .700. The last time? 1932.

The Bears own the best record in the NFC. If they can beat the Packers, they’d take a huge step toward securing homefield advantage.

That wasn’t on Johnson’s mind, though. Sounding a lot like LaFleur, his goal was to go 1-0 this week.

“It doesn’t mean anything,” Johnson said. “There are five games left, so we’ve got a long ways to go and we have not been guaranteed a spot in the tournament yet. We have to earn that. And the only way you can earn that right is by finding a way to win the next game. So, that’s where our sole focus is.”

With their nine wins, the Bears have clinched their first winning season during the LaFleur era. Finally, the border battle might be a true rivalry rather than a bully battle.

“To be honest with you, I don’t really put too much thought into that,” LaFleur said. “Yeah, I think it’s cool for the fans and, certainly, when you have two good teams and, obviously, Chicago is the No. 1 team in the NFC right now. It should be a great game.”