Matt LaFleur, Green Bay Packers
Matt LaFleur, Ben Johnson handshake takes unexpected turn after Packers rout Bears 1
The Green Bay Packers waited nine months for another shot at the Chicago Bears, and they made the most of it at Lambeau Field on Sunday. Green Bay won 31-7, forced four turnovers and chased Tyson Bagent from the game in the fourth quarter, snapping Chicago’s two-game winning streak in the series, which included January’s Wild Card comeback.
FOX cameras had been waiting since kickoff for what came next. Matt LaFleur and Ben Johnson met at midfield for their fourth handshake as rival head coaches, and this one carried none of the heat of the last three. The two shook hands, LaFleur gave Johnson a pat on the back, and both walked off.
Matt LaFleur, Green Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur looks on during the fourth quarter against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images
Oct 4, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson
Oct 4, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson against the New York Jets at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Mike Dinovo-Imagn Images
“The handshake. Not quite a blow by,” USA Today’s Ryan Wood wrote on X.
LaFleur blew past Johnson after Green Bay won 28-21 at Lambeau last December, the first of three handshakes that became storylines on their own. He kept it short when asked about it afterward.
“It was a quick handshake, and we’ll see them again in two weeks,” LaFleur said at the time.
Johnson returned the favor after the Bears rallied for a 31-27 playoff win in January, barely stopping before joining the celebration. He followed it with a profane locker-room speech aimed at Green Bay, and he leaned into the rivalry at his Monday news conference.
“This is a rivalry. And the city of Chicago, (of) Green Bay, it needs to be a rivalry,” Johnson said.
He kept the theme alive into this week. As Packers News noted, Johnson closed his locker-room speech after beating the Jets by asking his players, “Do you know what next week is? Do you know what next week is?!”
All eyes were on Matt LaFleur and Ben Johnson’s postgame handshake 👀
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— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) October 11, 2026
How LaFleur answered all of it
LaFleur has mostly declined to engage with Johnson’s theatrics, and he stayed on that line after Sunday’s win when asked how his players took the trash talk from January.
“Again, I have a hard time with that. That’s a better question for them,” LaFleur said. “Here’s what I’ll tell you. I think we all are moving in the same direction. And we all got each other’s backs.”
Jordan Love completed 25 of 31 passes for 367 yards and two touchdowns, and Christian Watson caught six passes for 143 yards and two scores against a Chicago team that entered the day with the NFL’s top-ranked offense.
LaFleur never had to say anything sharper than the box score.
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Mar 30, 2026; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson during the 2026 NFL Annual League Meeting at the Arizona Biltmore. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Case Keenum replaced Bagent and threw an interception in the end zone, leaving Johnson with a quarterback question ahead of next Sunday’s game against the Atlanta Falcons if Caleb Williams cannot return from injury.
Both teams now sit at 3-2, two games behind the unbeaten Minnesota Vikings, with Green Bay holding the head-to-head tiebreaker until the rematch in Chicago.