The Chicago Bears want to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers. You always want to win every game on your schedule. However, the importance of this particular game is up for debate. The Steelers are an AFC team. They won't be battling the Bears for a potential playoff spot. A loss to them would be unfortunate, but far less crippling than a loss to an NFC team or a divisional opponent. Just don't tell that to head coach Ben Johnson. It appears he is more focused than ever on winning Sunday, but maybe not for the reasons you think.
Sure, Johnson wants to win every game. He's obsessed with it. Yet this one carries more significance. Adam Hoge and Adam Jahns of CHGO revealed why in their latest column. It all centers on Aaron Rodgers. The future Hall of Fame quarterback has tortured the Bears for his entire career, having only lost to them five times between 2008 and 2022. Johnson has made it part of his mission to right past wrongs for this franchise and its fans. He crushed Matt Eberflus in the matchup with Dallas. He avenged the Hail Mary in Washington. Even that collapse against the Vikings in the opener was redeemed with a last-second escape in Minnesota.
Slaying the Rodgers dragon is next.
Adam Hoge: I’ll be honest. I wasn’t very confident Rodgers would make it to Week 12 to face the Bears. And maybe he didn’t. We’ll find out more about his status as the week goes on. But I agree that it would be poetic to get that win over Rodgers at Soldier Field before he retires, and doing so with Caleb Williams – who looked up to Rodgers growing up – would be fitting, too.
Jahns: I don’t think we’re making too much out of the potential significance of this, either. Johnson wasn’t a part of the Bears’ many losses against Rodgers, but he has seemingly embraced righting some of the wrongs of the past. His recent comments about how the Bears have found ways to win this season after failing to do so in the past stood out. Beating Rodgers would be an extension of that. Beating the supervillain would go a long way.
Ben Johnson has his own beef to settle with Rodgers.
He was in Detroit during the dark years when the Green Bay Packers still owned them just as much as they owned the Bears. He helped the Lions flip that script in 2022, ruining Rodgers' last season with his former team. There would be no greater feeling for Ben Johnson than to send the 40-year-old into retirement with a lasting image of the Bears beating him. The fact that it would also hurt the quarterback's chances of making the playoffs would be a nice bonus.
It won't be easy. Chicago might be down all three of their starting linebackers on Sunday. It may come down to whether Johnson's offense can score enough points. We know for a fact he'll be up for that challenge. Pittsburgh's defense has struggled against the pass all season. It would be the perfect time to get Caleb Williams going.
Seeing a Bears head coach embrace team history like this is so refreshing and a sign of how much Johnson cares.
