Heading into Week 14, first-year head coach Ben Johnson is leading the No. 1 seed in the NFC in the 9–3 Bears.
Just like everyone thought would happen. O.K., maybe not so much.
Chicago’s most recent triumph was an impressive 24–15 victory over the defending champion Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field on Black Friday. To celebrate the big win, Johnson ripped his shirt off in the locker room while giving a rousing postgame speech to the team.
Come for the @ChicagoBears victory speech, stay for Ben Johnson going tops off to fire up the squad 🤣 #BlackFridayNFL pic.twitter.com/3mo7nHmUdf
— NFL on Prime Video (@NFLonPrime) November 28, 2025
“My wife was just laughing, that’s about it,” Johnson said Monday of his family’s reaction to the now-viral clip. “My 2-year-old was watching the TV screen back and home and she’s like, ‘No shirt, no shirt!’ She’s pointing to the screen, ‘No shirt!’ My wife had no idea what was going on. That’s really about how that went.”
The reason behind Ben Johnson’s shirtless speech
Speculation began days in advance that Johnson would have his viral bare-chested moment. Back in late October, The Wieners Circle—a popular hot dog vendor in Chicago—posted to X that they would give away free hot dogs if Johnson goes “topless” in a locker room speech.
Is Ben Johnson gonna give us the right type of trick plays? Because if not he’s gonna have to go topless in his locker room speech, if he wants to feed an entire city
— The Wieners Circle (@TheWienerCircle) November 9, 2025
Bear down! https://t.co/qVBe8Wejkx
Johnson confirmed he was aware of the post in a press conference back on Oct. 24. The Bears have won five games since those first comments, but coach ultimately decided a win over the defending Super Bowl champs was the right moment to do so.
“That was a spur-of-the-moment deal, I guess,” Johnson said Monday. “I figured the sooner, the better because I’m not in the weight room very much anymore. ... I hate to draw attention from our players, but the intent was to bring up the city of Chicago. Hopefully it gave them a little excitement. They’re a big part of this journey.
“... I think any time you get to feed a city, you want to do it. A man of the people.”
‘The city of Chicago is hungry too’
— The Wieners Circle (@TheWienerCircle) November 29, 2025
-Ben Johnson https://t.co/hcOMuk2NB6 pic.twitter.com/tZXWKcYrfz
The city of Chicago will enjoy free hot dogs Tuesday at The Wieners Circle.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Ben Johnson Reacts to Viral Clip of His Shirtless Postgame Speech to Bears.
