The best part about the Bears' season is that it ended today. There's probably a fun(ish) argument about what the second best part of the Bears season was, and there's definitely a fun argument that it was from a quick moment in the third quarter of Sunday afternoon's game.
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With less than a minute left in the third quarter, Jaylon Johnson got shaken up on a play and left the game with a quad injury. While walking to the locker room with team trainers, Johnson very obviously heard something from a Packers fan and wasted literally no time whatsoever responding. Like, he did not hesitate at all. And in that moment, he gave Bears fans the moment they waited six months for. In that moment, those 12 losses didn't exist. Months of investing in bad football finally, for a fleeting second, paid off.
At least Bears fans got one good Jaylon Johnson meme out of this season
Jaylon Johnson, Bears legend pic.twitter.com/my7CXQfMGQ
— Payton Gregory (@PaytonGreg13) January 5, 2025
Do you realize how often we're going to see this picture for the next six months? Every single anonymous Bears account on the internet is going to make this their profile picture. Commendably, Johnson was remorseful about the incident after the game, but I can't imagine too many Bears fans were looking for an apology. With 44 seconds left in the third quarter, the defining image of the Bears' season was probably one of those sad shots of Caleb Williams looking miserable on the sideline. But with 43 seconds left in the third quarter, everything changed forever. And honestly I'm probably underselling it.
Basically nothing went right for the Bears this season, but Johnson's Packers arc may be the lone exception. The Bears' only Pro Bowler spent the entire week brazenly trash talking Packers, backed that up with a Lambeau Field Peanut Punch, and then walked off like that. All on top of a win? That doesn't happen to the Bears. I can't think of a single better week for any player this season. There was, of course, a follow up tweet.
I said what I said
— Jaylon Johnson (@NBAxJay1) January 5, 2025
There are few things more bloggable than "player flips off opposing fans on his way out," and now the Bears get to share in that tradition. It truly was a special day. The Bears are back?