By Moses Joshua 
The Detroit Lions may have ended their regular season on a high note with a gritty 19–16 road win over the Chicago Bears, but the aftershocks of that rivalry are still rumbling — and they’re now centered squarely on former Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson.
Fresh off leading the Bears past Green Bay in the NFC Wild Card round, Johnson didn’t simply celebrate a playoff victory. He lit a match.
Rivalry Revived, Then Turned Personal
After Chicago stunned the Packers to advance in the postseason, Johnson hinted that the victory carried extra emotional weight.
“There was probably a little bit more noise coming out of their building up north to start the week, which we heard loud and clear, players and coaches alike,” Johnson said after the game. “This one meant something to us.”
His quarterback, Caleb Williams, echoed the sentiment, describing a gut feeling before the decisive play.
“Once we lined up, I actually knew that we were about to hit it just off the demeanor of the guys on the other side of the ball. Just had a feeling that that was going to be the one,” Williams said. “Guys did a great job. O-line did a great job blocking. Guys did a great job selling the fake, and then obviously DJ going up the sideline.”
So far, nothing out of bounds. Rivalries thrive on edge. But Johnson wasn’t done talking.
The Quote That Set Everything Ablaze
It was what came later that changed the tone entirely.
After the game, Johnson bluntly declared, “F the Packers, f them,” adding that he hates them.
That single sentence ricocheted across social media, talk shows, and message boards. It wasn’t gamesmanship anymore — it was personal, public, and raw.
When asked days later whether he regretted the comment, Johnson didn’t blink.
“There’s a rivalry that exists between these two teams. Something that I fully recognize and am a part of…I don’t like that team,” he said, according to ESPN’s Courtney Cronin. “George [McCaskey] and I have talked and we’re on the same page.”
Fans Fire Back: “You Can Have Class and Still Compete”
The reaction was swift and divided.
One widely shared response read:
“You can act like a head coach though. The rivalry can be fierce and still respectful. In a way it is fitting though that Chicago’s savior is going to take the low road. So many of the fans identify with this.”
Another added,
“You can have great rivalries and still have some class. Ben Johnson obviously missed the memo on how to be classy. Good luck to the Bears the rest of the way.”
A third piled on,
“You can not like a team and still have professional respect. Ben Johnson behaves like a child.”
But Bears fans were more than happy to embrace the chaos.
“That’s a coach who understands the job,” one supporter wrote. “He knows what the rivalry means to the city, the locker room, and the fans. No apologies, no backtracking, just owning it and having ownership aligned. That’s how rivalries stay real.”
What It Means for Detroit — and the North
For Lions fans, the episode is equal parts vindication and irritation. Johnson once embodied Detroit’s offensive renaissance; now he’s the loudest voice fanning NFC North hostility from the opposite sideline.
Whether you see it as passion or poor taste, one thing is undeniable: Ben Johnson isn’t interested in playing diplomat. He won, he spoke his mind, and he’s not walking anything back.
In a division already fueled by grudges and grudging respect, Johnson just ensured the Lions–Bears–Packers triangle is about to get even more combustible.