Ben Johnson brutally brushes off Matt LaFleur’s handshake after historic comeback

It’s a party in the Windy City.

Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears pulled off a historic 31-27 comeback over the Green Bay Packers at home, earning the franchise’s first playoff win since 2010.

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The Packers appeared firmly in control after building a 21–3 halftime lead, but momentum shifted after the break as Chicago stormed back, erasing an 18-point deficit to take down its bitter rival.

The rally stood as the most dramatic postseason comeback in Bears history and the largest lead ever blown by the Packers in the playoffs.

Saturday night’s victory at Soldier Field also gave Chicago its first playoff win since the 2010 divisional round against Seattle, snapping one of the longest active postseason droughts in the NFL.

After the game, the two head coaches, Chicago’s Ben Johnson and Green Bay’s Matt LaFleur, met at midfield for a handshake that lasted less than half a second.

It appeared Johnson had little interest in lingering, as he initiated the brief interaction and seemed to big-league LaFleur.

This, of course, follows comments Johnson made almost a year ago when he was introduced as the Bears’ head coach, saying he enjoyed beating the Packers’ coach twice a year as the Detroit Lions‘ offensive coordinator.

“To be quite frank with you, I kind of enjoyed beating Matt LaFleur twice a year,” Johnson said, as the Lions notably had the Packers’ number over the past few seasons.

The Bears and Packers split the regular season series 1-1, but Johnson secured that second victory on a magical Saturday night in front of the Chicago faithful.

“There was probably a little bit more noise coming out of their building up north to start of the week — which we heard loud and clear, players and coaches alike,” Johnson said after the game.

“So this one meant something to us.”

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Jordan Love briefly steadied things by hitting first-round rookie Matthew Golden on a screen pass that Golden turned into a 23-yard score, the first touchdown of his career, giving Green Bay a 27–16 lead with 6:36 remaining.

As for the game itself, after a red-hot opening half, Green Bay’s offense stalled following the break. The Packers were forced to punt on their first four possessions of the second half, opening the door for Chicago to pull within 21–16 with 10:08 remaining after two field goals and a six-yard touchdown run by D’Andre Swift.

The Bears then rattled off 15 unanswered points, beginning with an 8-yard touchdown pass from Williams to Olamide Zaccheaus, followed by a successful two-point conversion to tight end Colston Loveland.

Wide receiver DJ Moore later broke free for a 25-yard touchdown that gave Chicago the lead. Moore had also caught the go-ahead score against Green Bay in Week 16.

Jordan Love then led the Packers all the way to the Bears’ 28-yard line with 1:43 remaining, but came up empty as two desperate throws in the final moments fell incomplete.

Johnson and Williams didn’t blink and didn’t waver in their first postseason game together, even when things looked extremely bleak.

The postseason drought is over, and now the celebration in the Windy City can begin.

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