In a Wild Card game featuring a historic rivalry, here's why the Chicago Bears are focused on the basics
It’s hard to avoid the magnitude of the moment.
The Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers will play in the NFC Wild Card round. It’s not the same as 2010, when the Super Bowl was on the line.
But, the moment is still massive for a first-year Bears head coach in Ben Johnson. He can put a stamp on a season where he’s made it clear the Bears-Packers rivalry is no longer as lopsided as it has been.
How does he get there, though?
By going back to the basics.
What they're saying:
The tale of the tape this weekend includes two teams that have stumbled into the playoffs on the heels of two losing streaks.
Winner gets to move on to the NFC Divisional Round and some massive bragging rights.
The players feel both sides of this, especially as the Packers players have opened the floodgates with some pointed words after the Bears knocked Packers’ starting quarterback Jordan Love out of the game the last time the two teams played.
"I know a lot of guys took that hit that he took a little personal," Packers’ running back Josh Jacobs told reporters this week. "I'm not saying we going to go out there and play dirty or nothing like that, but we definitely gonna defend our brother."
That talking started back when Johnson was hired, saying he was looking forward to beating Packers coach Matt LaFleur twice a season.
"The rivalry speaks for itself," Bears receiver DJ Moore said. "But the players that are on both sides with both teams right now are pretty amped about this third matchup and getting out there."
But, the Bears aren’t focused on that.
The Bears are focused on the words that Johnson said to the team earlier this week. His message ahead of the week’s worth of preparation were simple: if you’re not focused and ready to play another five weeks, there’s no point in being at Halas Hall.
That’s why talk is cheap to some of the veteran players.
"It don't matter. We about to line it up," defensive lineman Grady Jarrett said. "We about to get to it and I'm excited for the matchup. We ready to go do it."
For the players, the basic principle is getting another game in a playoff format that leads to one of the biggest stages in all of sports.
The playoffs don’t come easily for some players.
That’s why the message Jarrett is sending to the younger players is to seize the opportunity. He’s been to a Super Bowl before earlier in his career. Now, it’s the first time in a while that Jarrett has been back to the playoffs.
"You gotta seize this opportunity whenever it rise," Jarrett said. "I made it as a young player. Now I'm more of a veteran player and it's been a minute since I've been back in the postseason. It is an opportunity that I don't want to take for granted, and always wanna put my best foot forward."
Big picture view:
To put their best foot forward, the Bears have decided to simplify everything this week.
Johnson’s message of "focus on the playoffs or go home" was received, especially by the younger players. Rookie tight end Colston Loveland mentioned Johnson’s message on Wednesday.
"The intent behind that is just to let the young players who haven’t been here before just understand that we’re all in with everything that we’re doing," Johnson said. "The here and the now. Like I’ve already mentioned, you don’t take it for granted."
That was followed by another message. There’s no need to make this game more difficult than it already is.
"I'm rooted in the fundamentals, particularly on games like this," Johnson said. "It's about blocking, it's about tackling, it's about catching the ball, it's about ball security. Things of that nature come out to the forefront. And so, I'm more concerned with playing sound football, making sure that we're putting our guys in a good spot."
Johnson knows where the Bears’ strengths are. He knows who his go-to players are, and who the hot hands are.
Now, he and the coaching staff just need to craft roles around this.
These roles will come to light on Saturday as Johnson continued to shine in his role that prepares players for the biggest game of the season this weekend, and beyond.
After all, beneath the gravity of it all, it's just a football game. The Bears have won 11 of those this season.
"We’ve got a lot of talented players and you just want them to play fast, play confident, and put them in good spots," Johnson said. "That's what we're concerned about as a coaching staff. I've tried to be pretty ‘Steady Eddy’ just in terms of demeanor throughout the season and that doesn't change here and now. That's my role."