Every Chicago Bears fan remembers Ben Johnson's introductory press conference at Halas Hall, and they'll remember it forever. In that press conference, Johnson infamously alluded to quite enjoying beating Matt LaFleur twice a year.
Of course, that immediately gave the Green Bay Packers some bulletin board material going into this season. But, after the two teams split the regular season series, Johnson now had the chance to fulfill that early prophecy, if you will, in the NFC's Wild Card round.
After Chicago performed another miraculous comeback over those same Packers and sent Green Bay home, Johnson met LaFleur after the game -- albeit briefly -- for yet another postgame handshake. This handshake would be the quickest one yet, with almost zero words exchanged from the looks of it.
Quick handshake between Ben Johnson and Matt LaFleur 👀
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 11, 2026
(📺 Prime) pic.twitter.com/qYSKlSG5bK
LaFleur appears to have said something along the lines of "good game," or something else very brief. But, there was another angle that made this interaction look even better.
Alternate angle of Ben Johnson’s handshake with Matt LaFleur made it even better
From this angle, it looks like Johnson did, indeed, say something. But, it was extremely brief. And, it looked like Johnson didn't even want to give LaFleur a full second of his time. This is pure speculation, of course, but it almost looked as if LaFleur was expecting to have maybe a brief moment with Johnson.
But Johnson had no intention to engage past a lightning-fast shake of the hands.
This was all business.
Or was it?
Somehow, some way, Johnson had made this thing personal. Several months ago, Johnson made this personal after both he and LaFleur had publicly acknowledged they didn't exactly have a relationship. So, Johnson essentially created this rivalry between the two of them the moment he stepped foot into Halas Hall.
And Bears fans were there for it.
And guess what? Bears fans are still here for it.
Suddenly, in their last four meetings, the Bears are 3-1 against the Packers. It sounds absurd. It sounds too good to be true. But, it's true.
The Bears have found a way not only to stay in games and win them, but to do so against their most hated rival.
Read more: Ben Johnson stuck to his word from 11 months ago after stunning win over Packers
It would be a shame if the Packers opted to fire LaFleur after such a monumental collapse ... only because these handshakes would suddenly become a thing of the past rather than occurring, at minimum, twice a year.
