Ben Johnson vs. Matt LaFleur, Part 2
- Mark Potash
- Dec 17, 2025
- 4 min read
Bears-Packers rivalry stories never get old no matter how cliche they become — the history of the rivalry is that good. But this week's Bears-Packers game is particularly enticing. Not only are both teams battling for the NFC North title in Week 16 (a rarity in the series), but the head coaches have a frosty relationship and the teams are playing for the second time in three weeks, when memories of the previous game — including the cold postgame handshake between Ben Johnson and Matt LaFleur — are fresh in everyone's mind. This should be fun.
In fact, the last time the Bears and Packers played twice in a three-week span when the head coaches had a contentious relationship, the rivalry reached a peak in antagonism an animosity in 1985, when Ditka's Bears went to war with Forrest Gregg's Packers in a memorable best-of-three falls event won by the Bears, though uncomfortably.
Ditka and Gregg weren't personal rivals when they played for the Bears and Packers in the '60s — both were Hall of Fame offensive players. The root of their discord, according to Ditka, began in the the preseason in 1984, when Ditka was miffed that Gregg was trying to score in the final minutes of an August exhibition game the Packers won 17-10 (the Packers finished the game at the Bears' 5-yard line). Ditka spoke his mind. Gregg took exception. And it was not forgotten.
When the Bears played the Packers on Monday Night Football on Oct. 21, the Bears were 6-0 and starting to get the NFL's attention after a 26-10 victory over the defending Super Bowl champion 49ers at Candlestick Park, when Ditka used 350-pound defensive tackle William "The Refrigerator" Perry (though listed at 308 in those days) in the backfield in response to Bill Walsh using 275-pound guard Guy McIntyre as a blocking back in the NFC Championship Game in January.
In a nationally televised game, Ditka didn't miss the opportunity to play that card again and stick it to Gregg and the Packers in the process. He used Perry in the backfield in goal-line situations and a legend was born when Perry scored once and twice smothered Packers linebacker George Cumby to clear the way for a Walter Payton touchdown in a 23-7 victory.
That was only part of the contentiousness of that game, that left both sides sniping at the other. "Since they're winning, they think it entitles them to do or say anything they want," Packers tight end Paul Coffman said.
But the Bears not only won the game, but the war of words as well.
"When the opposition tells me how to coach my football team, then our record will probably be 3-4, also," Ditka said in response to criticism that he was rubbing it in by using Perry in the backfield. "Anyone who says we were trying to rub it in, they're stupid."
"I have a lot of respect for [quarterback] Lynn Dickey, but I wouldn't give you two cents for the whole Packer team," Bears defensive lineman Dan Hampton said. "We don't like them and they don't like us."
"They've got a lot of good ballplayers, but they've got a lot of crybabies, too," Bears quarterback Jim McMahon said.
So when the Bears and Packers played at Lambeau Field just two weeks later, that animosity was still fresh. The Bears were bracing for a response from the Packers, but the brutality of that matchup — on both sides, but mostly from the Packers — exceeded expectations.
On the second play from scrimmage, Payton fumbled and the Packers' Ezra Johnson recovered, with Packers safety Stills, a rookie back-up making his first NFL start, taking a shot at McMahon as McMahon approached the pile at the end of the play.
That was just the start. Packers cornerback Mark Lee was ejected for shoving Payton out of bounds and over the Bears bench, igniting another altercation. Stills had the most egregous cheap shot of all — hitting an unaware Matt Suhey after Payton had already been tackled on a short run. In all, there were six personal foul penalties — four of them on the Packers.
"They came to fight instead of play football," Bears linebacker Otis Wilson said.
The Bears took the hits, dealt out a few cheap shots of their own and grinded out a 16-10 victory. It helped to have the best player on the field, and one of the grittiest. Payton rushed for 192 yards, including a 27-yard touchdown that gave the Bears a 16-10 lead with 10:31, following a free kick after Steve McMichael's sack of Jim Zorn in the end zone for a safety had cut the Packers lead to 10-9. It was Payton's highest rushing total in eight years — since his 192-yard game against the Chiefs during the miraculous playoff run in 1977.
"The way football should be played," Payton said after the game.
"This was World War III without nuclear weapons," Ditka said. "It was fun to play. I'm sure it was more fun to win."
The bottom line: The Bears were 9-0 and on their way to the Super Bowl. The Packers were 3-6 and headed nowhere. They wouldn't make the playoffs for eight more seasons. Ditka went 15-5 against the Packers and 7-1 against Forrest Gregg.
At that point, the Bears led the all-time series with the Packers 80-58, with six ties. Since then, the Packers are 50-15 against the Bears and lead the series 108-95, with six ties. The rivalry isn't nearly as contentious as it was in the Ditka-Gregg era. But Ben Johnson stoked it a bit with his jab at LaFleur in January. LaFleur responded with a 28-21 victory at Lambeau Field on Dec. 7. Now it's Johnson's turn to respond. And away we go.
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