Bears' Johnson in viral speech: 'F--- the Packers!'

Chicago Bears coach Ben Johnson exchanged a very brief, very frosty handshake with Packers coach Matt LaFleur in the moments after his team's 31-27 victory over Green Bay in the NFC wild-card round Saturday night.

And that was only the start of Johnson's victory lap.

"F--- the Packers! F--- them," Johnson shouted as part of his postgame locker room speech, which was shared by the team on social media after Chicago completed the largest postseason comeback in franchise history.

When asked about his emotional response to the victory, Johnson acknowledged that the Bears had extra motivation to beat the Packers in the latest meeting between the NFC North rivals.

"There was probably a little bit more noise coming out of their building up north to start the week, which we heard loud and clear, players and coaches alike," Johnson said. "This one meant something to us."

Johnson did not elaborate on which comments he was referring to, but Packers wide receiver Christian Watson and cornerback Keisean Nixon both said that they wanted to play the Bears in the playoffs.

Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley went a step further on Wednesday, implying that Green Bay would beat Chicago when he told reporters "we are not going to be done, so I will see you guys next week."

"It definitely got us riled up," Bears safety Kevin Byard III said. "It got us amped up for the game. ... I didn't think that we were going to be able to top some of the wins that we had earlier in this season, as far as the comebacks. But this one, this one was just the most special one."

The NFL's longest-running rivalry dates back to 1921, but Saturday night marked just the third playoff meeting between the two teams. The previous one occurred when the Packers beat the Bears 21-14 in the NFC Championship Game at Soldier Field on Jan. 23, 2011.

The NFC North champion Bears (12-6) extended their resurgent first season under Johnson with their seventh fourth-quarter comeback victory. They split two down-to-the-wire games with Green Bay in the regular season, and this one turned out to be a thriller when it looked like it would be a breeze for the Packers (9-8-1).

Chicago trailed 21-3 at halftime and 21-6 through three quarters, only to outscore Green Bay 25-6 in the fourth on the way to its first playoff win in 15 years.

The memorable victory came nearly one year after the Bears hired Johnson, who famously said during his introductory news conference that he "enjoyed beating Matt LaFleur twice a year" during his days as the Detroit Lions' offensive coordinator.

Quarterback Caleb Williams, who orchestrated Chicago's historic comeback with two fourth-quarter touchdown passes, was asked whether the Bears had delivered a message to their rivals this season.

"We're here," he said. "And we're going to be here for a while."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.