Ben Johnson Reveals How the Super Bowl 28-3 Lesson Helped the Bears Orchestrate a Comeback Against Packers

Ben Johnson drew inspiration from the Patriots-Falcons Super Bowl game in which the Falcons lost despite taking a 25-point lead.

Ben Johnson Reveals How the Super Bowl 28-3 Lesson Helped the Bears Orchestrate a Comeback Against Packers

Ben Johnson revealed that the Bears took inspiration from the Patriots Super Bowl 2016 triumph over the Falcons (Image via IMAGO/SB Nation)

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The NFC Wild Card game looked finished as a contest after Jordan Love threw three first-half touchdowns against the Chicago Bears and raced to a 21-3 lead. However, Caleb Williams tossed two late touchdowns to secure a come-from-behind victory and secured a spot in the divisional playoff game.

After the game, Ben Johnson referenced the New England Patriots’ famous 25-point turnaround in the 2018 Super Bowl game against the Atlanta Falcons. The Bears’ head coach claimed that his team took inspiration from that particular fixture and didn’t lose hope.

The Bears were really up against it after falling behind by a massive margin. Williams stepped up to save the Bears, just as he has so many times in the past five months. Even though he completed just 50% of his passes and conceded two interceptions, Williams fought back. He threw for 361 yards and two touchdowns in the final five minutes of the game to Olamide Zaccheaus and DJ Moore to seal a memorable win.

Williams deserves a ton of credit for recording his seventh fourth-quarter comeback. However, he found the confidence to face adversity because of Johnson. Speaking during the postgame press conference, the first-year head coach revealed that they drew inspiration from the 2016 Patriots-Falcons Super Bowl game. Johnson said:

One thing we did during training camp was show the film of the Atlanta–New England [Super Bowl] game. We had two players on the roster who were part of those team, Grady [Jarrett] with Atlanta and Joe [Thuney] with New England, and it was great getting perspective from both of them on how that game unfolded.

The lesson from that game helped the Bears keep their composure. Chicago became the first team to score 25+ points in 4th quarter of a playoff game since the Philadelphia Eagles had 26 in a 36-20 win vs the Saints in the 1992 wild card. Johnson quipped:

This was a great opportunity to turn it around into a game we’d never forget. And that’s exactly what they did.

Of course, it’s impossible to forget about the Patriots’ improbable turnaround against the Falcons. Thuney was on the winning side while Jarrett on the losing. However, Jarrett had one of the best games of his career, racking up three sacks on Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. If the Falcons had won instead of the Patriots, then Jarrett may have won the Super Bowl MVP trophy.

Did Ben Johnson know about the link between the 2016 Falcons and the current Packers team?

It was the Bears’ first playoff game since the 2020 season. The biggest comeback story turned out to be the biggest motivator. Sure, the Bears had two players who played in that game. But did Johnson know there was a third man present on the sidelines that day?

Ben Johnson Reveals How the Super Bowl 28-3 Lesson Helped the Bears Orchestrate a Comeback Against Packers
Caleb Williams (Image via IMAGO)

It was none other than the Packers head coach, Matt LaFleur, who served as the Falcons’ quarterbacks coach. He helped Matt Ryan reach his full potential. However, he ended up on the losing side when the referee blew the final whistle.

Johnson and LaFleur don’t like each other. As a matter of fact, during his introductory press conference as the Bears’ head coach, Johnson, a former Lions offensive coordinator, claimed that he loved beating LaFleur. After Saturday’s game, Johnson barely paused to have a proper handshake with his counterpart.

Johnson wasn’t satisfied with just the win or the flimsy handshake. He called out the Packers’ faithful for writing them off from the contest prior to kickoff. He said, via Ari Meirov of The 33rd Team.

There was probably a little bit more noise coming out of their building up north to start of the week — which we heard loud and clear, players and coaches alike. So this one meant something to us.

It’s worrying times for LaFleur. He might have taken the Packers to back-to-back playoff appearances, but after the loss to the Bears, his record now stands at 3-6. Meanwhile, the Bears will start preparation for their first divisonal round appearance since 2010.

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