Ben Johnson exchanged a very brief, very frosty handshake with Matt LaFleur in the moments after the Chicago Bears’ 31-27 victory over the Green Bay Packers in the NFC wild-card round.
And that was only the start of Johnson’s Saturday night victory lap.
«F— the Packers! F— them,» Johnson shouted as part of his postgame locker room speech, which was shared by the team on social media after Chicago completed the largest postseason comeback in franchise history.
Christian Watson and cornerback Keisean Nixon both said that they wanted to play the Bears in the playoffs.
Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley went a step further last Wednesday, implying that Green Bay would beat Chicago when he told reporters «we are not going to be done, so I will see you guys next week.»
«It definitely got us riled up,» Bears safety Kevin Byard III said. «It got us amped up for the game. … I didn’t think that we were gonna be able to top some of the wins that we had earlier in this season, as far as the comebacks. But this one, this one was just the most special one.»
Detroit Lions’ offensive coordinator.
Quarterback Caleb Williams, who orchestrated Chicago’s historic comeback with two fourth-quarter touchdown passes, was asked whether the Bears had delivered a message to the rival Packers this season.
«We’re here,» he said. «And we’re gonna be here for a while.»
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
