As the Chicago Bears suffered a brutal loss to the Los Angeles Rams in the divisional round of the NFL Playoffs on Sunday night, 20-17, it marked the end of a successful season under first-year head coach Ben Johnson. Despite the Bears’ heartbreaking loss to the Rams, Johnson would send an uplifting message to opposing head coach Sean McVay.
The matchup between Chicago and Los Angeles was one for the ages, as a miracle touchdown by quarterback Caleb Williams to find Cole Kmet in the endzone forced the game into overtime. However, it would be the Rams that outlasted the Bears, as when Johnson went to send his congratulations to McVay, he would have a motivational message.
“Hell of a job, man. Go win one,” Johnson said to McVay, via Ari Meirov.
#Bears HC Ben Johnson to Sean McVay: “Hell of a job, man. Go win one.”
McVay to #Bears DC Dennis Allen: “Hey, unbelievable job. You kicked our a**. A lot of respect.”
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) January 19, 2026
While the respect is there from Chicago, there is no doubt disappointment from Johnson as he spoke about it to the media in his post-game press conference.
“Disappointing result,” Johnson said, according to Bears Wire. “Our guys are feeling it right now. They all believed, man. They all believed all year long that we could find a way to win each and every week.”
Ben Johnson on how “special” the Bears were this season
While it’s easy to see the future success that is coming to the Bears under Johnson and Williams, there’s no doubt that they felt they could win it all this season. Johnson would double down on that sentiment, saying how “special” a team it was.
“But I am proud of the group. It’s a special group,” Johnson said. “I said that a few weeks ago. I believe that to my core, that when you’re with a group of men for the last time in the locker room, and you know it’s just not going to be the same going forward, that — I appreciate all of them, the men and the women, coaches, players, support staff, everybody that had a role this season. It was a special year.”
“This will be hopefully a feeling in this locker room that we won’t forget, and we’ll be able to use it as fuel going forward,” Johnson continued.
At any rate, Chicago looks to further improve after finishing with an 11-6 record, which won them the NFC North.
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