The Chicago Bears celebrated an emotional comeback win against the Green Bay Packers in the Wild Card Round of the NFL playoffs. Head coach Ben Johnson attacked the division rival in his locker room speech after the game.
For the Chicago Bears, the victory in the Wild Card Round against the Green Bay Packers was a satisfaction. Not just because the Bears turned around a clear 3:21 halftime deficit. But also because it was against the big rival.
After the game and the 31:27 victory there was pure ecstasy in the Bears dressing room, which led head coach Ben Johnson to launch a clear attack on the opponent. “F*** the Packers! F*** them!” Johnson shouted. It was the climax of a skirmish that had been brewing for months.
As soon as he took office in Chicago, the previous offensive coordinator of the Detroit Lions announced that he was looking forward to beating the Packers twice a year.
After the defeat at the beginning of December, these words flew around his ears, but after the successful revenge in the regular season two weeks later, he now had the last word in the playoffs – at least this season.
The fact that Johnson shot against the Packers in fairly borderline language was based on statements that had previously come from Green Bay.
Packers statements motivate Bears extra
“At the beginning of the week there was probably a little more noise from their building to the north, which we heard loud and clear, both the players and the coaches,” said Johnson: “This game had a special meaning for us.”
He did not go into detail about what the statements were. However, both Packers receiver Christian Watson and cornerback Keisean Nixon had made it clear that they wanted the Bears in the playoffs.
And defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley told reporters Wednesday: “We won’t be done, we’ll see you next week.” A clear indication that he apparently didn’t think defeat was even possible. At least that’s what we heard in Chicago.
“That definitely got us excited,” said Bears safety Kevin Byard. “It motivated us for the game. I didn’t think we could top some of the wins we had earlier this season in terms of comebacks. But this game was just really special.”
