The postgame handshake heard around the world is following Ben Johnson into the divisional round.
In the moments following the Bears’ drama-filled 31–27 victory over the Packers in the wild-card round Saturday, Johnson howled as he triumphantly strolled up to Packers coach Matt LaFleur for a fly-by handshake. He doubled down in the Bears’ locker room celebration by yelling, “F--- the Packers!” and tripled down the following day by stating he simply doesn’t like that franchise in Green Bay.
Johnson’s actions only spiced up the historic Bears-Packers rivalry, which has been injected with new life as Chicago rises to the top of the NFC North.
Quick handshake between Ben Johnson and Matt LaFleur 👀
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 11, 2026
(📺 Prime) pic.twitter.com/qYSKlSG5bK
Now, the Bears advance to the divisional round where a matchup against coach Sean McVay and the No. 5 Rams awaits. McVay, who works alongside Matt LaFleur’s brother, Mike, on the Rams and is great friends with the Packers coach, apparently is not too pleased with how things went down postgame at Soldier Field.
“That handshake and all that mother-f stuff from Ben Johnson did not go over well with the McVay tree, if you will, and around the league,” NFL insider Peter Schrager said on The Bill Simmons Podcast. “... This is the WWE part of this where there’s actual personalities involved.”
“That handshake and all that mother-f stuff from Ben Johnson did not go over well with the McVay tree … and around the league.”@PSchrags can’t wait to see Ben Johnson and Sean McVay go at it. pic.twitter.com/WzOAfYzf55
— The Ringer (@ringer) January 16, 2026
Who else is in that aforementioned McVay tree? Aside from the LaFleur brothers, Bengals coach Zac Taylor, Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell and Jaguars coach Liam Coen have all worked under McVay, as has former Falcons coach Raheem Morris and current Saints defensive coordinator Brandon Staley.
Now, McVay and the Rams have the chance to avenge the Johnson handshake this weekend at Soldier Field.
“I think McVay wants to kick the snot out of Ben Johnson ... and I think Ben Johnson has no problem with that: ‘I’ll beat the snot out of you.’ I love these two guys,” Schrager said. “Two young, alpha offensive minds going at it in this game. I can’t wait.”
Johnson has won the last two meetings against McVay—both as the Lions offensive coordinator from 2022 to ‘24. Detroit beat the Rams 26–20 in overtime in Week 1 of the 2024 season and 24–23 in the wild-card round of the ‘23 playoffs.
We might be getting another classic Johnson-McVay chess match on Sunday. And when the final horn sounds—no matter who wins—all eyes will be at midfield for the handshake sequel.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Ben Johnson’s Spicy Postgame Handshake Not Sitting Well With Sean McVay’s Coaching Tree.
