Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson. David Banks-Imagn Images

Ben Johnson showed Bears clips of another famous comeback before thrilling win over Packers

By Clark Dalton | Last updated Jan 11, 2026 12:41 PM ET

Head coach Ben Johnson prepared the Chicago Bears for their epic comeback well before the postseason.

Against the Green Bay Packers in the NFC wild-card round on Saturday, the Bears erased a 21-3 deficit en route to a thrilling 31-27 win. After the victory, Johnson revealed that he showed his team clips of the New England Patriots' Super Bowl LI comeback against the Atlanta Falcons during training camp.

The Patriots came back from a 28-3 deficit in that matchup, stunning the Falcons in a 34-28 overtime win.

Ben Johnson explains why he showed Bears clips of Patriots' comeback against Falcons

"That was my message to the group, just reminding them this has been done before, rather than 'woe is me' and 'crap, we're in a hole,' it's more like this is a great opportunity for us to turn this thing around into a game that we'll never forget," Johnson said. "And that's what they did."

Ben Johnson showed the Patriots 28-3 comeback to the @ChicagoBears during training camp pic.twitter.com/HJmUCoGaP2
— NFL (@NFL) January 11, 2026

Johnson noted Bears guard Joe Thuney (Patriots) and defensive end Grady Jarrett (Falcons) played in that Super Bowl, saying, "It was just great to get perspective from both of those players and how it went down."

Packers HC Matt LaFleur was also on the sideline for Super Bowl LI. The coach was then serving as a quarterbacks coach for the Falcons. Like that loss nearly eight years ago, Saturday's defeat is one he wishes he could forget.

"It's very humbling," LaFleur said in a postgame news conference. "I'm disappointed for everybody that's associated with the Green Bay Packers. I'm disappointed for our locker room. I'm disappointed for our fans. I'm disappointed for our leadership, all our employees, everybody involved with the Green Bay Packers right now."

The Packers have now suffered back-to-back first-round playoff exits. The Bears, meanwhile, are aiming to make their first appearance in the NFC Championship Game since the 2010 season. Chicago will host the highest remaining seed in the NFC in the divisional round. Johnson hopes the lessons from the Patriots' comeback serve his team well again in its next postseason game.

Clark Dalton

Dalton is a 2022 journalism graduate of the University of Texas at Austin. He gained experience in sports media over the past seven years — from live broadcasting and creating short films to podcasting and producing. In college, he wrote for The Daily Texan. He loves sports and enjoys hiking, kayaking and camping.

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