The Green Bay Packers versus the Chicago Bears — the NFL’s oldest rivalry, packed with iconic moments and Hall of Famers on both sides. Whenever these two teams clash, you know the hatred levels in Illinois and Wisconsin spike, and this week will be no different.
It’s been a one-sided rivalry for nearly 20 years. The Packers are 29-11 against the Bears since 2005, a stretch that includes an NFC Championship win at Soldier Field on their way to a Super Bowl title in 2010.
Jordan Love has never lost to Chicago in a game he starts and finishes, and Matt LaFleur is 11-1 against the Bears. Over that same stretch, Green Bay has gone from Brett Favre to Aaron Rodgers to Jordan Love as its franchise quarterbacks. Meanwhile, Chicago has spent two decades wandering through quarterback purgatory. Now, they are hoping Caleb Williams is the one who can finally pull them out of it.
Williams has led the Bears to a 9-3 record this season, putting them atop the NFC North and giving Chicago the No. 1 seed in the conference. Now they head to Lambeau Field to face an 8-3-1 Green Bay team, and the winner walks out of Sunday sitting alone at the top of the division.
“He’s done a great job,” LaFleur said of Williams on Monday. “He’s kind of like a magician back there in terms of his escapability. Getting ready for some of these games and watching the crossover tape, just how he is able to avoid sacks and negative plays, situations, has been pretty impressive.”
It’s been rare for younger Packers fans to see a matchup against Chicago carry this much weight. You can point to Week 1 in 2019, when the reigning NFC North champion Bears, with Super Bowl expectations, hosted rookie head coach Matt LaFleur in his debut. But on Sunday, these two teams will play their most meaningful game since 2013.
How could Packers fans ever forget Week 17 in the Windy City? Aaron Rodgers dropping a last-minute bomb to Randall Cobb on fourth-and-eight to win the game, steal the division, and break every Bears fan’s heart in the building. It was a masterpiece, something Packers fans could watch on repeat forever.
In 2013, Rodgers had broken his collarbone earlier in the season against that same Bears team, but he returned just in time to make their lives miserable all over again. “This is a special group of guys who’ve been through a lot,” Rodgers said afterward. “It’s been a rollercoaster.”
Cobb, playing for the first time since Oct. 13, finished with only two catches — and both went for touchdowns.
“To be in that moment at the end of the game and have that opportunity, it’s a blessing,” Cobb said after the game.
Rodgers and Cobb are gone, and the Bears now have Ben Johnson — who went 3–0 at Lambeau as Detroit’s offensive coordinator — running the show as head coach. Sunday is a prime opportunity for LaFleur to come in with an all-gas-no-brake mentality, especially after what Johnson said about him during the offseason.
“And to be quite frank with ya,” Johnson said during his introductory press conference with the Bears, “I kind of enjoyed beating Matt LaFleur twice a year.”
This game could be the beginning of a real coaching rivalry, and the stakes couldn’t be bigger. According to 8,000 playoff simulations, a Packers win over Chicago would push their playoff chances to 97%, bump their odds of taking the division to 58%, and give them a 17% shot at the No. 1 seed.
However, if Green Bay loses, they’d slide down to the seventh seed and suddenly find themselves staring at a much tougher playoff path. It would also give teams like the Detroit Lions and the Dallas Cowboys — who are currently outside the playoff picture — a clearer path back into the race. It would even bring the Carolina Panthers a bit closer to the Wild Card mix.
Sunday is a must-win game for Green Bay. A victory puts them back on top of the division and strengthens their shot at the No. 1 seed. This is the moment to set the tone. If the opposing head coach wants to take shots at you in the offseason, show him he picked the wrong target. The Bears are feeling themselves these days — and to be fair, they’ve earned some of it — but it might be time to pull them back to reality.
Sunday has to be an all-gas-no-brake performance from the Packers for all 60 minutes, and the stakes should serve as the perfect reminder.
