Ben Johnson is warning players not to fall into this trap ahead of the Packers game

Since it is Chicago Bears they just won their first division title in seven years and are now return to the playoffs after posting four consecutive double-digit losing seasons, one might worry that the players would become complacent. Although teams always aim high, it’s all too easy to subconsciously become complacent after reaching a huge milestone. Ben Johnson has changed how many people perceive the franchise in just his first year as a head coach. But he’s not patting himself on the back.

Nor does he crown his players. Johnson wants his team to enter the playoffs with an insatiable appetite and supreme confidence. Rookie tight end Colston Loveland discovered the message the NFL Coach of the Year candidate told the Bears ahead of Saturday’s NFC Wild Card showdown with the Green Bay Packers.

“(Ben Johnson) said if you’re not ready to play the next five weeks, you’re thinking about anything else, you’re thinking about booking vacation flights, don’t come,” Loveland said, per 670 The Score’s Chris Emma. “He made it clear what was at stake and what this team was looking for.”

Johnson’s five-week rhetoric bothers some people in the media like former NFL HC Eric Mangini, because it’s pretty unusual to look that far ahead. Chicago understands serious challenge that the Packers presentbut isn’t afraid to acknowledge the big picture goal. Many fans will see this mentality as hubris, especially if the Bears fall at Soldier Field this weekend. Although, perhaps more than any other team competing in this year’s playoffs, this franchise could potentially benefit from visualizing eventual success.

The Bears have been mired in dysfunction for too long. They finally look like a contender, and Ben Johnson wants to do everything in his power to keep it that way. With young talent like Caleb Williams, Rim Odunze, Luther Burden III and Colston Loveland lining up on offense, it’s important to operate with a great sense of confidence and composure.

Chicago will obviously still need to be sharp on the field, but when facing a franchise that has been arguably superior over the last three decades, a little extra motivation should only help. Johnson and the Bears begin their five-week mission on Saturday, beginning at 8 p.m. ET.