Matt LaFleur smartly reacts to Ben Johnson’s offseason jab after guiding the Packers to a big win over the Bears
Packers head coach Matt LaFleur knows what’s truly at stake against the Chicago Bears.
The difference between offseason talk and regular season talk between the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears over the past few years has generally favored the Packers in December. That happened again on Sunday, with a big 28-21 win for Green Bay to take the lead in the NFC North.
But it wasn’t easy to get there. Back in January, new Bears head coach Ben Johnson said that he enjoyed beating Matt LaFleur twice a year, a weird rant for two coaches who are not close. While it may have created some tension among fans, LaFleur took the high road and said the game itself was big enough — for the Packers’ head coach, responding to Johnson’s offseason talk wasn’t extra motivation.
“Absolutely not,” LaFleur said. “It’s Packers-Bears. It’s a great rivalry, and certainly with what was at stake in regards to positioning in the NFC North, that’s the only thing that matters.”
Johnson wasn’t questioned explicitly about it in his own presser, but quickly talked about his frustrated expectation for the game.
“I think our guys were confident coming into the game that we were going to be able to come away with a W in this one,” Johnson said. “And we fell short. Like I said, we just didn’t make a couple plays there when we needed to.”
LaFleur and Johnson are clearly not friends
While it makes sense for LaFleur to avoid extra tension publicly, it’s clear the coaches don’t have a close relationship. After the game, they didn’t exchange any meaningful words.
“I think it was a quick handshake,” LaFleur added. “I mean, we’ll see him again in two weeks.”
That’s the entire point of LaFleur’s approach to the situation. Behind closed doors, it’s possible that LaFleur used that as extra motivation, consciously or not. But it’s smart to downplay that factor with the Packers and Bears playing again in 13 days.
Now, the head coach just wants to focus on the Denver Broncos before having to face Ben Johnson again — and with a chance to sweep him and then, yes, respond to that offseason talk the best way possible, with two big wins on the field, and not at the microphone.
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Green Bay beats Chicago 28-21 to take the lead in the NFC North.
