The NFL welcomes the latest installment of its oldest rivalry on Saturday night as the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears square off in a rare blockbuster playoff game.
The first time these familiar football foes met was in November 1921, when Chicago, then known as the Staleys, defeated the Packers 20-0. Since then, Green Bay has amassed a 109-99-6 record in the series, with both teams enjoying periods of dominance over each other.
The teams share a total of 211 seasons heading into an NFL-record 213th meeting, but have only met twice in the playoffs during that time.
The Bears defeated the Packers 33-14 in the 1941 divisional round, and Green Bay won 21-14 in the 2010 NFC Championship Game as Aaron Rodgers led the Packers to Super Bowl XLV glory.
Ben Johnson’s Bears will host Matt LaFleur’s Packers at Soldier Field after winning their first NFC North title since 2018 en route to the No. 2 seed.
“We always talk about it during Bears Week, just to understand the history of the Packers and Bears, the oldest rivalry in the NFL,” Packers quarterback Jordan Love said.
“Before I came here, I didn’t really know much about it, but now that I’m here, I think it’s just something I learn.”
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Love is set to return as center after being sidelined since going into concussion protocol following a helmet-to-helmet collision during the second quarter of Green Bay’s 22-16 overtime loss to Chicago on Dec. 20.
This game marks the end of the regular season for LaFleur’s limping Packers, who have lost their fourth straight game, but Love returns to the playoffs for the third straight season as the starting QB. The 2020 first-round pick and successor to Aaron Rodgers at Lambeau Field made this his third and most recent postseason start after a slump with three interceptions as the Packers lost 22-10 to the eventual champion Philadelphia Eagles in last season’s wild-card round.
By contrast, he made a strong statement two seasons ago in his playoff debut when he threw three touchdown passes in a 48-32 victory over the Dallas Cowboys.
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DJ Moore of the Chicago Bears scores a touchdown against the Green Bay Packers in Week 16 of the NFL that gives his team the victory.
Love finished the regular season completing 291 of 439 passes for 3,381 yards, 23 touchdowns, and just six interceptions. The offensive line has star tight end Tucker Craft, as well as wide receivers Christian Watson and Jaden Reed battling injuries.
“I have a lot of confidence in him,” head coach LaFleur said. “There’s no one I’d rather hug than Jordan.”
Star edge rusher Micah Parsons, who was traded from the Dallas Cowboys before the season, suffered a torn ACL in Week 15, extending the marquee absences to the defensive front.
High expectations for a Super Bowl contender to slump and soar are cause for concern, but Green Bay, which lost twice to the Bears in the regular season, will be painted as an unlikely underdog heading into Saturday.
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2025 NFL Season, Week 16 Green Bay Packers vs. Chicago Bears Highlights
“Look at Green Bay, this is a team that brought in Micah Parsons coming into the season. They had the Super Bowl in mind,” said Sky Sports NFL’s Phoebe Scheckter. “We always talk about teams that are on different timelines. The Packers are kind of in a ‘have to’ situation because Matt LaFleur has been there for a little while.
“Jordan Love, they did everything right. They had him sit behind Aaron Rodgers and let him develop. They tightened up the defense and got him to a great position. We also have our star receiver back. We have to be able to close this out against our division rivals.”
“I think there’s more pressure on the Packers than the Bears right now. The Bears have a first-year head coach in Ben Johnson, and with Caleb Williams coming in, you have to think this is essentially his first year. I think that’s what makes it so interesting, but the hatred for each other is incredible.”
The Bears have grown into a championship contender under rookie head coach Johnson. Johnson billed himself as one of the league’s most in-demand football minds during his time as the Detroit Lions’ offensive coordinator before opting to work with 2024 No. 1 pick Williams.
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Bears quarterback Caleb Williams somehow found receiver DJ Moore for a 22-yard touchdown, his second score of the game.
Williams entered the NFL compared to Patrick Mahomes. A different player, to be sure, but Williams was hailed as the latest infusion of off-platform artistry and out-of-structure absurdity that has become customary for talented young quarterbacks about to graduate from college.
While there are question marks over his accuracy, he has come to appreciate moments of magic as he pilots the Bears’ offense, which has improved under Johnson.
“I think I’m built for moments like this because of the way I’ve worked and mentally,” Williams said. “I’ve been in a lot of big games and I’ve been in a lot of big rivalry games. I think I can give a spark to the team in moments like that.”
“I think I can do whatever the team asks of me, whether it’s standing in the pocket or running or scrambling or whatever, handing the ball off 30 times and working hard. Whatever it takes is where I am and hopefully where I’ll be over the next few weeks.”
Williams completed 330 of 568 passes, the NFL’s lowest completion percentage among qualifying starters at 58.1, and threw for 3,942 yards, 27 touchdowns, and seven interceptions.
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Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams slips through the hands of a Green Bay Packers defender and passes to wide receiver Olamide Zachias for a Bears touchdown.
Sky Sports NFL’s Neil Reynolds said: “I find this statistic unbelievable and very misleading. He’s at the bottom of the NFL with a success rate of just 58 per cent and he’s not that type of player.”
“He’s a great playmaker, and he’s a big reason why the Bears rank second in the NFL with 127 big plays, runs of 10 or more yards or passes of 20 or more yards.”
“My only concern with the Bears is that they don’t do it every quarter and sometimes they have to turn it on and have late rallies like they did against the Packers the week before Christmas. That’s a concern for me.”
Williams, who helped the Bears end an 11-game losing streak against the Packers in his rookie year, had 388 yards and three scores in the NFL’s third-ranked rushing attack led by D’Andre Swift (1,087 yards, nine TDs) and Kyle Monangai (783 yards, five TDs). Meanwhile, Chicago’s defense topped the charts with 33 total takeaways on the year, including 23 interceptions.
The Week 16 game between the NFC North rivals foreshadowed the drama to come Saturday, as Williams put his young NFL career on hold to take on DJ Moore in an overtime thriller. In doing so, he increased his NFL-leading number of fourth-quarter comebacks to six.
Rodgers once famously claimed he “owned” the Bears, and Green Bay had the edge in this matchup. But the playing field has been leveled.
Watch Carolina Panthers vs. Los Angeles Rams live on Sky Sports NFL on Saturday from 9:30pm, followed by Green Bay Packers vs. Chicago Bears from 1am on Sunday.
