How did the Bears erase a 21-3 deficit against the Packers on Saturday? The Bears believed.
The belief traces to training camp, when coach Ben Johnson showed the team Super Bowl LI. That was the game that saw the Patriots down 28-3 in the third quarter. Before they turned it around and won the game.
“That was my message to the group,” Johnson told reporters after last night’s playoff win. “Was just reminding them that this has been done before. And rather than saying ‘woe is me’ and ‘oh, crap, we’re in a hole,’ it’s more of an opportunity for us to turn this thing around into a game that we’ll never forget. And that’s what they did.”
Helping to reinforce the point was the presence of a pair of players from Super Bowl LI. Former Falcons defensive tackle Grady Jarrett and former Patriots offensive lineman Joe Thuney are Bears. And they both got to enjoy the thrill of Patriots-style victory, while sending the Packers to share Atlanta’s agony of defeat.
The only thing left is for Bears fans to make T-shirts and flags showing the 21-3 score bug.