There will be plenty at stake on Sunday when the Green Bay Packers host the Chicago Bears at Lambeau Field.
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The Bears hold the NFC’s No. 1 seed with a 9-3 record after winning five consecutive games. The 8-3-1 Packers can take the lead in the NFC North with a win over Chicago.
Amid the need to win the game for playoff seeding, pride is at stake for the rivals.
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During his introductory news conference in January, Bears head coach Ben Johnson took a shot at Packers head coach Matt LaFleur.
“I kind of enjoyed beating Matt LaFleur twice a year,” Johnson said of his time with the Detroit Lions.
Johnson went 5-1 against the Packers when he was the offensive coordinator at Detroit. The Lions swept Green Bay during the 2022 and 2024 seasons.
During his news conference on Thursday, Packers offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich told reporters that he took Johnson’s diss personally.
“Yeah, you take it personal, for sure,” Stenavich said, via Matt Schneidman of The Athletic. “I’ll just leave it at that.”
Earlier this year, LaFleur said he wasn’t offended by Johnson’s comments, chalking it up to the new Bears coach needing to play to the Chicago fan base.
However, LaFleur might have been trying to avoid putting up bulletin board material of his own. During an appearance on 670 The Score’s “Mully & Haugh Show” on Wednesday, Stacey Dales of the NFL Network suggested the Packers very much remember Johnson’s comments.
“So while it’s being deflected this week by both coaches, and maybe Ben wants to go back and bury it a little bit, it is very much present,” Dales said. “And they will use every tactic this week, both teams will, to get these men ready to play violently on Sunday. And that’s probably the best way I can answer it.”
One thing’s for certain: After Sunday, there will be some bragging rights for the winning coach.
But not for long; the Bears and Packers will meet again on Dec. 20.
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