Adding heat to the Bears’ rivalry with the Packers

Saturday’s 31-27 victory over the Green Bay Packers was one of the most-memorable playoff wins in Bears history.

Quarterback Caleb Williams shined in the spotlight to lead the team’s seventh fourth-quarter comeback of the season. The defense responded to a rough first half by mostly shutting down the Packers in the second half.

The Bears will try to keep their run going Sunday when they host the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC divisional round at Soldier Field. Here are three of the most interesting things the Bears said Monday.

On Williams’ playoff debut

Williams came through in his first playoff game. He led three touchdown drives to end the game and threw for 361 yards, which broke the team’s playoff record.

It wasn’t all perfect, though. Chicago also struggled to find a way into the end zone during the first three quarters. Williams threw for 184 yards in the fourth quarter, more than he had in the previous first three combined, along with two interceptions.

But Johnson didn’t feel that meant Williams played poorly the whole game.

“We kept, like I said, kept chipping away and eventually we broke through that dam and turned field goals into touchdowns there at the end,” Johnson said. “That was just the nature of that game. Yeah, we all want to start faster. I know that’s been a theme here over the last two months of the season it feels like. But we’re going to go back to work here and it’s something we address, it’s something we correct and it’s something we look to get better from.”

Saturday also was the most agitated Williams had seemed in a game this year. The TV broadcast showed Williams yelling at his teammates after a slow first three quarters.

Johnson didn’t have a chance to talk with Williams about that before meeting with reporters in the morning, but planned to do so later. Johnson did see value in Williams being authentic to himself when the game wasn’t going the way he wanted.

“There is an accountability factor that goes into it as well,” Johnson said. “When I turn on the tape and I see a few things, particularly in our passing game, that weren’t the way we had talked about over the course of the week, sometimes you do need to get a little bit fired up just to make sure the point gets across and that we play better going forward, so I don’t shy away from that part of it.”

On aggressive coaching

Johnson brought his aggressive decision-making to the playoffs.

The Bears went for it on fourth down six times and converted twice. Three of those attempts came in their own territory and led to two conversions. Chicago failed to convert on an attempt from its own 32-yard line, and Green Bay scored a touchdown on the ensuring possession.

Johnson said the Bears didn’t have as many possessions offensively as he had wanted in the previous games leading up to the playoffs and wanted to maximize those drives Saturday.

“It always comes down to what we feel as a coaching staff is going to give us the best chance to win and put our guys in the right spot,” Johnson said. “And then you go back and you look at it after the game: Hey, was it the right mindset or not? And that’s what happens in this league. And I’m never going to apologize for being aggressive or doing things that might be a little bit unorthodox, if it’s what we deem is best for us to win a ball game.”

It didn’t mean Johnson lacked confidence in the defense to get a stop. The decision to go for it from the Bears’ 32 came after the Packers used nine plays to go 85 yards and score a touchdown on their opening possession.

“I think where it gets misconstrued is there’s a lack of confidence in your defense when you do that,” Johnson said. “I think the opposite. I think it’s because I have confidence in our defense and their ability to stop teams in the red zone that it makes you more willing to pull out a strategy like that.”

On the rivalry with the Packers

After three matchups between the Bears and the Packers this season, it’s clear the rivalry is alive and well.

Johnson’s arrival seemed to reinvigorate a rivalry the Packers have dominated this century. His comments about beating Packers head coach Matt LaFleur twice a season during his introductory press conference drew critiques from Green Bay fans and led to more intense play on the field this season. It also led a pregame skirmish before Saturday’s playoff-opener.

“This is a rivalry,” Johnson. “And (for) the city of Chicago, Green Bay — it needs to be a rivalry.”

Johnson intensified the rivalry Saturday after the win. He drew criticism for his quick postgame handshake with LaFleur and for his comments during the postgame celebration shared by the team on social media. It included a part at the beginning of the video when Johnson yelled “f*** the Packers.”

It was a surprising decision for the Bears, a franchise seen as buttoned-up at times, to keep the comments in their video. But Johnson didn’t hear any complaints from the team’s leadership, especially from Bears owner and chairman George McCaskey.

“There’s a rivalry that exists between these two teams, something that I fully recognize and I’m a part of,” Johnson said. “And, yeah, I just, I don’t like that team. So George and I have talked, and we’re on the same page.”

The players appreciated the reaction too.

“It was definitely a turned up moment,” linebacker Tremaine Edmunds said. “You could just see the energy in the locker room. Everybody was like, ‘OK, Ben got a little swag about himself.’ Know what I mean? But like I mean we all put a lot into this, you know what I’m saying? To be able to act off your true emotions and your true personality, I think that’s what it was for him.”