How Ben Johnson is keeping the Bears focused amid playoff talk

The Chicago Bears are making plenty of waves and headlines after they grabbed the No. 1 seed in the NFC following Week 13.

In the first year under Ben Johnson, the team's turnaround so far has been a huge success. But that doesn't mean the players or the coaching staff are getting ahead of themselves while the national media starts to begin conversations about Chicago's playoff chances.

It's easy for the fanbase, media, or even those in the organization to get caught up in the hype and success, but Johnson has stressed taking things one week at a time. Earlier this week, Johnson spoke about the emphasis he's pushed on the team, which is about going 1-0 every week, nothing further.

"The emphasis has always been, ‘we're just looking to win the next game.’ Like I told the group this morning, the job is not done," Johnson said. "We haven't accomplished anything yet. We're at nine wins and I think this year you're probably going to have to get to 11 to make it in the tournament. And so, that's what we need to do. We have to get there first. We have to find a way to get there, and the only way to do that is to find a way to be 1-0 this week."

Taking on the week-by-week mentality should only bode well for the Bears, who have not seen this much success at this stage in the season since 2006. While that season ended in a loss to the Indianapolis Colts in the Super Bowl, this team and fanbase would certainly want to sustain long-term success and not just enjoy one fun season.

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This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Bears HC Ben Johnson is keeping his team focused amid playoff talk