Ben Johnson’s icy Matt LaFleur handshake and ‘F--- them’ speech brought hate to Bears-Packers rivalry

Ben Johnson made it a point to go after Matt LaFleur in his introductory press conference as Chicago Bears head coach, saying he enjoyed beating the Packers coach twice per year when he was the offensive coordinator of the Detroit Lions. Emphasizing the importance of the Packers’ rivalry was a bold choice for Johnson: the Bears had lost 16 of the last 17 games to Green Bay before winning the otherwise inconsequential season-finale of the 2024 campaign. The Packers’ three-decade dominance of the rivalry was defined by Hall of Fame quarterbacks and explosive passing attacks while the Bears had a turnstile of QBs ranging from mediocre-to-terrible the entire time.

It took until the playoffs, but Johnson finally got his second win of the season against LaFleur in the Wild Card Round on Saturday night. The Bears stunned the Packers, 31-27, with a second half comeback for the ages. Green Bay led 21-3 going into halftime, and 21-6 going into the fourth quarter, but Chicago rallied as it has so many times this year behind some ridiculous plays from Caleb Williams to steal a win from their rival. When it was over, the real fireworks started.

Johnson met LaFleur at midfield for an extremely short handshake. The image from the other side is even more incredible.

Hang it in the Art Institute right now. This has the potential to be a forever meme every lopsided trade in real life or fantasy. It’s perfect.

You can’t blame Johnson for wanting to do a quick handshake so he could go celebrate with his team. Once he arrived in the locker room, he had his strongest message yet for his team.

Before Johnson handed out game balls and went into his signature “Good, better, best” routine, the Bears coach started off with one hell of an opening salvo: “F*** the Packers,” Johnson said. “F*** them. I f****** hate those guys.”

The Bears have gotten their teeth kicked in by the Packers for decades, dating back years before most of the players on both teams were born. It would be understandable to downplay the significance of such a lopsided rivalry, but that was never Johnson’s intention. The coach has instilled true hatred in his team for Green Bay, putting up plenty of bulletin board material to help his team build animosity.

After the game, the Bears’ offensive stars showed up on the Amazon set wearing cheese grater hats, and Williams shred a brick of cheese on live TV:

It’s a new era for the Bears-Packer rivalry. Williams’ legendary 46-yard dart to stun the Packers in overtime during Week 16 showed the Bears aren’t the little brother anymore. After ending their season with another ridiculous comeback in the Wild Card Round, the Bears danced all over Green Bay’s grave and made no apologies for it.

For once, it feels like the Bears are poised to take control of the rivalry. Williams is 24 years old, Johnson is only 39, and Chicago has some awesome toys for them to play with including 21-year-old Colston Loveland, 21-year-old Luther Burden III, and 23-year-old Rome Odunze. The Packers now go spiraling into the offseason asking if they need to replace their coach, and wondering how to they bide their time until Micah Parsons can return for a torn ACL.

Playing for money and glory isn’t enough. Johnson has pure hatred coursing through his players veins when they see Green Bay. After 30 years of beatdowns against their archrival, the Bears are finally starting to tilt the scales.