The Chicago Bears had a rough afternoon in Green Bay. Much of it came from their inability to play consistent coverage on defense. Packers wide receivers Christian Watson and Matthew Golden both had 120+ yards on the day. Their speed was more than the Bears’ cornerbacks could handle. No doubt Green Bay felt more than eager to talk trash to Chicago after months of stewing over their playoff loss in January. However, Golden may have tried to take things a little too far.
He called out Bears kicker Cairo Santos for attempting to trip him on the sideline during the game. It is clearly insinuated that Santos was making a dirty move.
Well, here’s the thing. Video evidence always tells the real story. What Golden conveniently failed to mention is that while running through the Bears’ sideline area after the catch, he seemed to lean his shoulder into an assistant coach, knocking him to the ground. Only then does Santos come into the frame with the attempted trip. It’s pretty clear the move was in retaliation for what Golden had just done.
Matthew Golden accomplished one thing with that statement.
He gave the Bears plenty of ammunition to stew over for the rematch later this year. The wide receiver could’ve kept his mouth shut. His team had just delivered a decisive 31-7 win. His play on the field did all the talking. Unfortunately, he couldn’t resist trying to stir the pot a little further. Try to make the Bears look like the dirty team that everybody should hate. He should’ve known better. Cameras were everywhere. Somebody was bound to find out what exactly happened. It isn’t a great look for him.
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One thing you can say about the Bears is they don’t forget slights. Not under this head coach. You can bet Ben Johnson will have that footage stored for the second game at Soldier Field on Christmas Day. There will be cutups of everything Matthew Golden and his teammates said. As talented as the Packers are, they should expect a very different team waiting for them. Injuries are never an excuse for losses like this. Green Bay won handily and earned it. Still, the list of players the Bears were missing can’t be ignored.
- Caleb Williams
- Kyle Monangai
- Ozzy Trapilo
- Coby Bryant
- Kyler Gordon
The Bears didn’t need extra incentive.
Golden gave it to them anyway. Santos has never been a player at any time in his career that you would call dirty. It was so out of character to hear the Packers receiver insinuate as much. Now we know why. He was trying to cover for his own blunder. No doubt Green Bay will be feeling good about itself going into December. They’ll have Micah Parsons back and everything. The thing is, Chicago should be much healthier as well, including the one guy the Packers managed to avoid who’s given them nightmares.
They can enjoy the win. They earned it. Played very well. No shade on that. Just be careful about how far you try to push the narrative. It feels like Golden got a little greedy by hinting at a controversy that wasn’t one. How the Bears use that to their advantage two months from now will be telling.
