The NFL demonstrated on Saturday why it is the best league in American professional sports. Both wild card games were phenomenal and the dramatic finishes to each game were amazing. But let’s leave aside the exciting finale between the Rams and Panthers, because the cup was much more interesting for Detroit Lions fans.
The Chicago Bears somehow pulled off another fourth-quarter comeback against the Green Bay Packers in what is already a defining moment in Ben Johnson’s career as Bears head coach. Most Lions fans gave me the feeling that they were rooting for Johnson and the Bears for obvious reasons: It’s hard to see your offensive coordinator go out and win the division and beat the Packers in the playoffs in his first year.
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But there was also a strong contingent of Lions fans after Saturday’s extraordinary drama who reminded people that the Packers are still enemy number one, a sentiment I agree with.
So today’s question is:
How do you feel after the Bears’ wild win over the Packers?
My answer: I was definitely among the people rooting for the Bears on Saturday night. To me, it was less about Ben Johnson and more about the Bears being exposed as somewhat fraudulent. Their defense is poor and relies too much on turnovers, and last-second comebacks are completely unsustainable. On both counts, Saturday was a miserable failure for those narratives. I mean, this statistic is absolutely ridiculous:
And as much as I hate to do it, I have to give credit to the Bears’ defense for changing their game plan after the half, making Jordan Love look uncomfortable for the final two quarters, and holding Green Bay to just six points in the second half without even forcing a turnover. As for comebacks, they can’t keep getting away with this, can they???
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All that being said, I was still smiling from ear to ear after the game. On the one hand, I love dramatic and entertaining football. I’ll take that score any day when the Packers beat the Bears 42-0.
Plus, the Packers just had their hearts ripped out. One of the most pompous and smug franchises in all of sports now has to sit back and accept blowing an 11-point lead in the final five minutes against its biggest rival. They have to marinate in a 1-4 record in their last five playoff games. And now they have to seriously consider whether their coach, once considered one of the winningest coaches in NFL history, is the right person to guide them into the future.
So I’m still brimming with schadenfreude on this wonderful Sunday morning, and none of the “did you write this article from Cancun?” The comments will hurt me.
What do you think about the game and the NFC North? Scroll down to the comments section and talk!