The Chicago Bears are the hottest team in the NFL. Currently on a five-game winning streak, the Bears are proving they can be legitimate Super Bowl contenders. While much still needs to be proven, the Bears' 24-15 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Black Friday caused quite a stir. The victory vaulted the Bears to the No. 1 seed in the NFC standings — a shocking revelation no one saw coming in the offseason. The win also provided fans with one of the more notable postgame celebrations of the season when Bears' head coach Ben Johnson rallied his team in the locker room shirtless.
On Monday, Johnson addressed his shirtless celebration and what led to his garment being removed after the win.
“It was a spur-of-the-moment deal, I guess,” Johnson said via The Athletic's Dan Wiederer. I figured the sooner the better. Because I'm not in the weight room much anymore. So this thing keeps getting a little worse the further we go along in the season…It was good. I hate to draw attention away from our players. But the intent was to bring up the city of Chicago and hopefully give them a little excitement. Because they are a big part of this journey as we're going through this season also.”
While Johnson may elect to keep his shirt on following the next Bears victory, the moment is symbolic of Chicago's season. Johnson, a rookie head coach, has helped jumpstart Chicago's offense alongside former No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams and completely flipped the script after a last-place finish in 2024.
Now in control of their playoff destiny, the Bears have a job to finish. But in the meantime, Johnson deserves to continue ripping shirts if it means Chicago keeps winning.
