The Chicago Bears mounted an improbable comeback against the Green Bay Packers in the wild-card round to keep their playoff dreams alive in what was an emotional win at Soldier Field last Saturday night. And while there’s naturally some concern about the fallout, that’s not the case for the Bears.
Chicago is quickly turning the page after exorcising their demons against their arch rival, and the focus has shifted to the Los Angeles Rams, who will come to Soldier Field for a frigid divisional round showdown on Sunday night. Veteran safety Kevin Byard discussed the importance of coming down from that high of a big win and focusing on the task at hand.
“It’s just one of those things about the playoffs,” Byard said. “Anytime you win in the playoffs, it’s always going to be emotional, it’s going to be a great win, especially when you’re playing at home. But as much as you are on the high end, you’ve got to reset immediately because all these teams we’re playing are great teams. We got the more than likely league MVP coming in town. We can’t be thinking about Green Bay anymore. As fun as that was, it’s a whole new week. We’re trying to be 1-0 this week. We have to prepare as much as we possibly can to try to go beat this team because that’s what playoff football is about. You can’t be worried about the last week. At the end of the day, this is a win or go home game as well. I think the focus will definitely be always on the Rams this week for sure.”
The Bears certainly have the coaching staff and veteran leaders to help the team handle the comedown from the emotional high. Head coach Ben Johnson has been impressed with what he’s seen from his players this week, where him and his coaching staff have stressed the importance of focusing on one game at a time.
“I think they’ve handled it really well and I think we’re going to do a good job here shifting the focus, starting our work week just like we’ve been doing each and every week,” Johnson said. “That’s really what it comes down to is you can’t let a win or a loss linger for too long. That’s our job as coaches to make sure we have the right mindset going into the week. I keep saying that every week, our veteran leadership, they’re phenomenal. I don’t know if I’ve been around it quite at this level before just week in and week out. They have a good pulse for locker room and their message is going to be what our team needs to hear.”
And if the Bears need any help getting hyped for Sunday night’s divisional showdown, they’ll get it from what’s sure to be a raucous Soldier Field crowd ready to replicate their impact from last week’s big win.
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This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Are Bears poised for letdown after emotional win vs. Packers?
Reporting by Alyssa Barbieri, Bears Wire / Bears Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
