The Chicago Bears’ 2025 season was their best since they lost the NFC Championship Game during the 2010 season to the Green Bay Packers, but despite the success, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson admitted that he left a Bears-Packers game early to “beat the traffic,” and the NFL world is not going to let him live that comment down.
Why Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s Early Exit From Bears-Packers Game Caused an Uproar
Appearing on “104.3 The Score,” Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson discussed the Bears’ potential relocation, mentioning a future publicly owned stadium and more, but one of his comments has definitely caused a stir he likely didn’t expect.
The comment? Leaving a Bears-Packers game early because the Bears were losing.
“Let me tell you how bad it is — Bears vs. Packers, I’m at the game, we’re losing,” Johnson said. “I decide to leave to beat the traffic. Before I get out of the footprint, the Bears had come back to win.”
Brandon Johnson notes the ingress/egress of Soldier Field must be fixed.
“Let me tell you how bad it is — Bears vs. Packers, I’m at the game, we’re losing,” he says. “I decide to leave to beat the traffic. Before I get out of the footprint, the Bears had come back to win.” pic.twitter.com/pN4XfpC0gW
— 104.3 The Score (@thescorechicago) June 3, 2026
The context was Johnson laying out how the ingress/egress of Soldier Field needs to be fixed, and he used this story as an example where he left the game early because they were losing, and before he could get out of the “footprint,” the Bears had come back and won the game.
Based on his description, he’s referring to either the Week 16 game when the Bears came back in overtime to beat the Packers 22-16 after a 46-yard touchdown strike from quarterback Caleb Williams, who finished with a PFSN QB Impact score of 75.9 last season, to wide receiver D.J. Moore, or when they scored 25 points in the fourth quarter in the Wild Card Game to beat them 31-27.
Either way, that’s a tough look.
“LMAOOOO of couse this guy left early… absolutely
How stupid could one be to leave that game early with all the comeback wins
What a JOKE
“IDC what he even said,” Miles Dobrzynski wrote on X.
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SI’s Kirsten Tanis replied, “Who leaves a 2025 Bears game early when you know what that team & QB is capable of doing in Q4? And why would you tell people this? 😂”
Zito Perez of “The Pat McAfee Show” posted on his X handle, “What a loser.”
Barstool Sports’ Ryan Brandell commented, “All I heard was that this man left Bears-packers early.”
SI’s Dave wrote, “Why would you openly admit this?”
Mayor Johnson didn’t fully think this comment through before saying it publicly to a rabid Bears fan base that has a lot to be excited about, especially with Williams on the cover of Madden 27.
The Bears open the 2026 season on the road against the Carolina Panthers on Sept. 13.
