GREEN BAY, Wis. — If Matt LaFleur said anything to Chicago Bears coach Ben Johnson after Sunday’s game at Lambeau Field, it couldn’t have been much considering the Green Bay Packers coach barely broke stride.
There’s also the fact that these two teams play again in less than two weeks.
“Just a quick handshake,” LaFleur said. “We’ll see them again in two weeks.”
Johnson verbally jabbed LaFleur shortly after he was hired by the Bears in January, when he said he enjoyed beating him twice a year when he was the Detroit Lions’ offensive coordinator. But if LaFleur took any extra satisfaction in the Packers’ 28-21 win Sunday, he wasn’t letting on.
“No, absolutely not,” he said. “It’s Packers-Bears. It’s a great rivalry. Certainly, with what was at stake in regards to positioning in the NFC North, that’s the only thing that matters.”
And when cornerback Keisean Nixon picked off Bears quarterback Caleb Williams in the end zone with 22 seconds left in the game, it meant the Packers (9-3-1) reclaimed first place in the division. The Bears (9-4) had at least a share of the division lead for the last month.
“It’s a very big win,” said Packers quarterback Jordan Love, who threw three touchdown passes and one interception. “Obviously, just where we’re at in the NFC North and the division that we have, I think we’ve got some really good teams in this division and, obviously, the Bears were on top. We knew what it was coming into it, and it’s a huge win. Obviously, we’ll be seeing these guys here again in a couple weeks.”
In 13 days to be exactly. The rematch is set for a Saturday prime-time game in Chicago in Week 16. The Packers play at Denver, while the Bears host Cleveland before the two teams meet again.
“It means nothing right now,” LaFleur said before reversing course. “I mean, it means a lot, but there’s four weeks left and you’ve got to take it day by day. You’ve got to really embrace that grind, embrace the challenge. It’s not going to be easy from here on out. We’ve got a great test in Denver coming up. Our guys really got to push and try to find any competitive advantage that we can get in order to go there, on the road, against a really quality opponent and find a way to get a win.”
If LaFleur wasn’t willing to conceded that there was a personal aspect to this game, then at least Love hinted at it.
“Yeah, it meant a lot to everybody,” Love said. “But, obviously, we’ve all known the comments that were out there so it is what it is. This is a game that means a lot to everybody. It’s an NFC North matchup. Obviously, Bears were No. 1 seed. So, it’s a huge game. We’ll see these guys here in a couple weeks again.”
The Packers improved to 4-0 in division games after going just 1-5 last season, including, of course, two losses to the Lions. For now, after one bone-chilling game at Lambeau Field, as far as the head coaching matchup goes, it’s LaFleur 1, Johnson 0.
“Just in terms of playing at Lambeau, this is my seventh year in the division,” Johnson said. “I do think there’s some aura that comes with playing here and competing here. I love it for our guys. This is what the football Gods made football to be, cold weather in December like this. Green Bay, Chicago, I think that’s outstanding. I think it’s awesome to have this rivalry alive and well right now. We’ll get another chance at it here in two weeks.”
ESPN Bears reporter Courtney Cronin contributed to this report.