Bears

Bears HC Ben Johnson said they want their rushing attack to “pick up” in the postseason after recording a season-low of 65 yards in Week 18. With the cold weather in Chicago going into the NFC Divisional Round against the Rams, Johnson understands how important the run game is. 

“It feels like it’s dipped a little bit — not something that we want late in the season,” Johnson said, via PFT. “We wanted that to pick up in the playoffs, weather games like this, you certainly want to be able to lean on your run game, so those are some elements we’re looking at. What can we do to help ignite that? It’s both efficient runs to stay on track and ahead of the chains and explosive runs as well — where can we find a few of those?”

Johnson points out that Los Angeles has a strong run defense and it will require their “A-game” to be successful. 

“We’ve got a really tough opponent in that regard,” Johnson said. “I think they do a really good job. I think the front is their strength — these guys at the line of scrimmage are really good football players. I think they shed blocks at an elite level. I think they are relentless. I think they are violent across the board, so I have a lot of respect for them and we have to be on our A-game to run it against this crew.”

Packers

• Matt Schneidman of The Athletic gathered several opinions on players regarding HC Matt LaFleur, with most saying they want him to remain their coach in 2026.
• Packers WR Jayden Reed: “I think he belongs here, man. The past three years I’ve been here, I’ve been in the playoffs every year. He’s created a winning atmosphere here. I think he’s a great coach.”
• Packers S Javon Bullard: “I love Matt. I think he does a great job with this team. Cool coach. I don’t have no problems with Matt, man. Just looking on the outside, people give him a hard time, but for us, he’s our coach. He’s our coach and we wouldn’t want nothing more (than) him to be here.”
• Packers WR Christian Watson: “I can speak for myself in terms of what he’s meant to me, but he’s definitely pushed me to be a lot better of a player. He’s definitely a coach that I want to go out there and play for 100 percent. He’s meant a lot to me. Obviously, he’s given me a lot of my opportunities to do what I do as a player and as a man. A lot of love and appreciation for Matt, for sure.”
• Packers S Xavier McKinney: “He’s still a good-ass coach. He’s a player’s coach. We all have really good relationships with him … I think he still did a hell of a job this year with us, with the team, despite the adversities that we face throughout the year.”

Vikings

Vikings WR Jordan Addison was arrested on Monday and charged with misdemeanor trespassing in Tampa, Florida. Minnesota GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah said the recent incident will give them something to consider when discussing Addison’s future, knowing 2026 is the final year of his rookie contract and WR Jalen Nailor is set to be a free agent this offseason. 

“Jordan is unique because 99% of the days that Jordan Addison is a Viking, he’s a joy to be around,” Adofo-Mensah said, via Kevin Seifert of ESPN. “He’s incredibly intelligent, confident, responsible. And then it’s like all of us: What are you like on those 1% of days? Is it the type of thing that draws attention or not? Obviously that’s something we have to consider when you’re talking about long-term ramifications of a contract extension and different things like that, or letting somebody like Jalen Nailor leave.”

Adofo-Mensah added that he’s “always supportive” of Addison. 

“We’ll have those conversations, obviously. Just a few days after the season and obviously this event just happened. But always supportive of Jordan Addison. We’ll continue to fact-find and see what actually happened, and then we’ll have those conversations in the future.”

Addison representation, Younger & Associates, wrote on social media that they have already initiated an investigation to determine the viability of the claim for false arrest against their client. 

“On Jordan’s behalf, his legal team has already initiated the investigation, identified witnesses, and we are reviewing the viability of a claim for false arrest,” Addison’s agency said on X. “He looks forward to the legal process and upon full investigation, we are confident Mr. Addison will be exonerated.”

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