Final Word: The Chicago Bears have equalized their rivalry with Green Bay

Everyone saw it.

By now, Ben Johnson’s "Good, Better, Best" postgame speeches have been appointment viewing for Chicago after any Bears’ win. The rallying cry has gripped the city. Saturday night was different.

The playoff edition of "Good, Better, Best" featured a Ben Johnson who took it to the next level.

The Bears made it clear after the game. They heard the chirping from the Packers all week, and it bothered them. It bothered Johnson, too.

Before he handed out game balls, he was seen shouting "F*** the Packers" to the Bears’ locker room.

So it’s like that, huh?

Yeah, it is.

After staging a comeback from down 21-6 at the start of the fourth quarter, Johnson is showing just what it takes to flip a rivalry on its side. After all the talking and chirping back and forth, starting with Johnson in his introductory press conference, the Bears have turned the tide on the Bears-Packers rivalry.

For the first time in three decades, it feels like the Packers don’t have a stranglehold on this rivalry. The Bears don’t come back down 18 against the Packers, including down 11 in the final five minutes. 

No matter what happens in the Divisional round or beyond, the 2025 Bears have changed the narrative in this rivalry. They have dealt the Packers and their fans two of the most devastating losses in this decade.

The Ben Johnson Bears have equalized the oldest rivalry in the NFL.

Big picture view:

Jaquan Brisker was asked about the noise coming from Green Bay this week. Before the question was finished, he had a side note.

"They was talkin’," Brisker said. "They was beggin’."

Packers running back Josh Jacobs was, saying they took the hit to quarterback Jordan Love personally. Bears safety Kevin Byard said Packers’ safety Keisean Nixon and wide receiver Christian Watson were also chirping throughout the week.

Before the game, the Packers gathered on the Bears’ logo. The Bears met them there, and exchanged not-so-pleasantries.

"I don't know what they were up to, what they were trying to get accomplished with that," Bears receiver Rome Odunze said. "I'm glad we came out with the W."

The Packers still had some words after the game.

They did not want to give the Bears the satisfaction of coming back to win that game. That wasn’t what the Bears did. The Packers, much like the late Dennis Green’s Cardinals in 2006, let ‘em off the hook.

"No disrespect to them, but it ain't sh** that they did," Packers’ defensive back Javon Bullard said. "It's us. We gotta finish. You know we whoopin' they ass the whole game, but that's us. We gotta finish."

Make that twice this season the Bears came back from the dead to stun Green Bay. The first time helped the Bears win the division, the second time ended the Packers’ season altogether.

There were games where there wasn't much chirping before, and there was this week when the talking came early and often. The Bears won those games.

Now, they have three wins over the Packers in this decade. One more ties the four total wins the Bears had over Green Bay in all the 2010s. They won't just tie that win total, they'll overcome that. The Bears understand how important it is to beat Green Bay.

That starts with the messaging from the coaches.

"It feels amazing, especially to send them home," Bears receiver DJ Moore. "A win is a win, even better when we play the Packers."

What's next:

In all three games, the Bears trailed the Packers by double digits at some point. In the first meeting, the Packers closed the door. In the second game, the Packers collapsed epically.

On Saturday, the Bears deserve more credit for their comeback. They didn’t win the turnover margin, going an entire game without forcing a turnover for just the second time this season, but instead staged a rally behind a defense that got stops and an opportunistic offense.

Doing this against the Packers just means a little bit more for the city of Chicago. This was win No. 4 over the Packers since the start of the decade. 

"It’s a helluva win for this city," Byard said.

But for the Bears, they envision more wins over the Packers.

Not just these two from the 2025 season, but in the future.

"We're here, and we're going to be here for a while is my plan," Bears quarterback Caleb Williams said. "To be here with Coach, win a bunch of games, be in these moments, come out victorious. That's the mindset for right now this year. That's also the mindset for the future."

For the first time, the Bears backed up their talk and walked the walk against Green Bay. It took their generational talent at quarterback with ice in his veins, but it also took a head coach who isn’t afraid to openly show disdain for Green Bay.

The Bears players have openly said "F Green Bay." They’re the ones in between the white lines. They can say it.

One of my takeaways from the weekend was how the Packers were so disliked at Halas Hall and in the locker room at Soldier Field, that even the even-keeled and soft-spoken D’Marco Jackson said it after the game.

Attitude does reflect leadership. Johnson does not like the Packers. Neither do his players.

For the Bears, the players also reflect their coach’s ability to walk the walk. Be intentional, and make your actions count more than your words.

That’s why the rivalry is back in a competitive sense under Johnson.

Time will tell if Matt LaFleur is on the other sideline come next season.

No matter what the rivalry looks like, the Bears are now back in it.

"This one meant something to us," Johnson said.

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