For Bears and Packers, wild-card game is a rare playoff matchup in NFL’s longest-running rivalry
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Green Bay (9-7-1) at Chicago (11-6)
DAY/TIME/TV: Saturday, 7 p.m. CST, Amazon Prime Video.
Series record: Packers lead 109-97-6.
Last meeting: Bears beat Packers 22-16 in OT at Chicago on Dec. 20
Last week: Packers lost at Minnesota 16-3; Bears lost to Detroit 19-16.
Packers offense: overall (15), rush (15), pass (17), scoring (16)
Packers defense: overall (12), rush (18), pass (11), scoring (11)
Bears offense: overall (6), rush (3), pass (10), scoring (9)
Bears defense: overall (29), rush (27), pass (22), scoring (23)
Turnover differential: Packers plus-1; Bears plus-22.
The Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers have played each other more than any other two teams in the NFL. Playoff games, however, are a rarity. The Bears and Packers will add another chapter to the league’s longest rivalry when they meet in a wild-card game at Soldier Field on Saturday night. It’ll be just the third time the franchises of Halas and Lombardi have faced off in the postseason, and the significance wasn’t lost on the participants. “It’s a crazy rivalry, like, and the fact that we’re playing them in the playoffs too, it just magnifies it another notch, almost,” Packers safety Xavier McKinney said. “And it makes it that much more important.” Bears tight end Cole Kmet grew up in the Chicago area and developed a strong rooting interest for any Green Bay opponent. He now has a personal tie to the Packers: His sister is dating defensive tackle Lukas Van Ness. “It means a lot,” Kmet said. “To be able to be at home against Green Bay, it’s going to be a special atmosphere, and it almost feels like we’ve played these guys like five or six times here in the past month. But I think that’ll just make the atmosphere in the battle that much more epic.”
The Bears (11-6) are hosting a playoff game for the first time since the 2018 season, when Cody Parkey’s double-doink missed field goal sealed a wild-card loss to Philadelphia. They’ve lost three straight playoff games since the 2010 team beat Seattle in the divisional round at Soldier Field, and the way that season ended remains a bitter memory for their fans. The Bears lost at home in the NFC championship game to Aaron Rodgers and the hated Packers. Green Bay (9-7-1) has dominated the rivalry in recent decades, but during the past two seasons, it’s been even. Last year, both games were decided on field-goal attempts by Chicago’s Cairo Santos — one was blocked and the other was successful. Both meetings this season were close, with Green Bay winning at Lambeau Field in Week 14 and Chicago prevailing in overtime two weeks later.
Johnson led turnaround for Bears
With coach Ben Johnson setting the tone in his first season and quarterback Caleb Williams making strides in his second year, the Bears went from finishing last in the NFC North to winning the division for the first time since 2018. They made the playoffs for the first time in five years and secured the No. 2 seed in the NFC, but they lost their last two games of the regular season — 42-38 at San Francisco and 19-16 to Detroit on a last-second field goal.
Packers’ defense struggles without Parsons
The Packers have lost four straight. With the No. 7 seed in the NFC locked up, they rested their top players last week at Minnesota. Limping into the postseason was not what the Packers envisioned when they season began. A trade with Dallas for star pass rusher Micah Parsons sent expectations soaring. The two-time All-Pro suffered a season-ending knee injury in a Week 15 loss at Denver, and the defense has struggled without him. Green Bay blew second-half leads against the Broncos and at Chicago the following week, and then gave up 307 yards rushing while falling 41-24 at home to Baltimore. The Packers expect to have quarterback Jordan Love back. He missed the final two regular-season games after exiting the loss at Chicago with a concussion.
Packers’ Nixon was a pivotal figure in both regular-season games
The Packers overtook the Bears for the NFC North lead with a 28-21 win in Week 14, hanging on thanks to an interception by Keisean Nixon in the end zone with 22 seconds remaining. Chicago had fourth-and-1 at the 14 and Williams badly underthrew Cole Kmet. Williams got some payback two weeks later by throwing a 46-yard touchdown pass to DJ Moore in overtime for a 22-16 win. The Bears rallied from 10 points down in the final two minutes of regulation. Nixon had coverage on the winning TD, after he and Nate Hobbs left Jahdae Walker wide open on the tying score. Nixon was looking forward to playing the Bears again. “I didn’t want nobody else,” he said. “I wanted the Bears.”
Not much playoff history for these franchises
The last time Green Bay and Chicago met in the playoffs, Rodgers took a Lambeau leap out of Brett Favre’s shadow and the Packers knocked Jay Cutler out of the game with a knee injury on the way to a 21-14 victory. The Packers went on to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers two weeks later in Dallas and bring the Lombardi Trophy back to “Titletown USA” for the first time since the 1996 team won it. In 1941, George Halas’ Bears beat Curly Lambeau’s Packers in the playoffs at Wrigley Field. Chicago then knocked off the New York Giants in the NFL championship game, also at Wrigley.
Packers seek to end skid
The Packers are the fourth team in NFL history to head into the playoffs on a losing streak of at least four games. The others were the 1986 New York Jets, 1999 Detroit Lions and 2024 Pittsburgh Steelers. Those Lions and Steelers both lost their playoff openers. The Jets won a wild-card game against Kansas City before losing to Cleveland in overtime in the divisional round.
Packers player to watch
QB Jordan Love: He hasn’t played in a game since a helmet-to-helmet hit from Chicago’s Austin Booker in the second quarter of the Dec. 20 Packers-Bears game sent him into concussion protocol. Love was cleared before Green Bay’s regular-season finale, but the Packers opted to rest him for the playoffs. Love has nine touchdown passes and only two interceptions in six games against the Bears.
Bears player to watch
QB Caleb Williams. The Bears envisioned deep playoff runs on a regular basis when they drafted Williams with the No. 1 overall pick last year. They hope this is just the start. Williams threw for a franchise-record 3,942 yards with 27 touchdowns and just seven interceptions. Though his completion percentage ranked last among qualifying leaders, he became more and more comfortable in coach Ben Johnson’s system.
Key matchup
Chicago’s running backs against Green Bay’s defensive line. Though the Bears’ run game emerged as one of the best this season behind a retooled line, it was hard to tell against Detroit. Chicago managed just 65 yards rushing, with D’Andre Swift held to 40 yards on 10 attempts and rookie Kyle Monangai finishing with 14 yards on six carries. With Swift running for 1,087 yards and Monangai adding 783, the Bears were the only team with two 750-yard rushers. Green Bay struggled to stop the run in recent weeks, with Devonte Wyatt (ankle) and then Micah Parsons (knee) suffering season-ending injuries. The Packers gave up 150 yards rushing to the Bears in their most recent meeting and then allowed Derrick Henry to run for 216 yards and four touchdowns in a 41-24 loss to Baltimore.
Key injuries
Packers: WR/CB Bo Melton (knee), CB Kamal Hadden (ankle), CB Nate Hobbs (knee), DL Jordon Riley (Achilles tendon) and S Zayne Anderson (ankle) have gone on injured reserve since the most recent Packers-Bears game… OT Zach Tom (knee) missed the Packers’ last three regular-season games and is questionable for Saturday. Also questionable are DL Warren Brinson (foot), S Javon Bullard (knee), LB Nick Niemann (pectoral), WR Dontayvion Wicks (concussion) and backup QB Malik Willis (shoulder/hamstring).
Bears: WR Rome Odunze (foot) expects to play after missing the final five regular-season games… CB Kyler Gordon (groin) is questionable as he attempts to return after being sidelined since Week 13. He has been limited to three games because of hamstring and groin injuries… CB C.J. Gardner-Johnson, LB Amen Ogbongbemiga and DL Joe Tryon-Shoyinka have been ruled out because of concussions… OL Braxton Jones (knee) is questionable.
Series notes
The Packers are 30-7 against the Bears counting the playoffs since the start of the 2008 season, with the past four games coming down to the wire. In 2024, both came down to field-goal attempts by Chicago’s Cairo Santos on the final play — one that got blocked and one that was successful. This season, Green Bay hung on to win 28-21 in Week 14 at Lambeau Field when Keisean Nixon intercepted Williams in the end zone with 22 seconds remaining. Chicago returned the favor two weeks later, rallying from 10 down in the final two minutes of regulation before Williams threw a 46-yard touchdown to DJ Moore in overtime. This is the third playoff game between the longtime rivals — all in Chicago. The Bears won a Western Division playoff game over the Packers 33-14 at Wrigley Field on Dec. 14, 1941. The Packers beat the Bears 21-14 in an NFC championship game at Soldier Field on Jan. 23, 2011.
Stats and stuff
The Packers have the NFC’s No. 7 playoff seed for the third straight year. They reached the divisional round in 2023 and lost 22-10 at Philadelphia in the wild-card round last season… The Packers dropped their final four regular-season games… They’re the fourth team to enter the playoffs after losing at least four straight games to end the regular season. The others were the 1986 New York Jets, 1999 Detroit Lions and 2024 Pittsburgh Steelers. The only team in that group to win a playoff game was the 1986 Jets, who beat Kansas City in the wild-card round before losing to Cleveland in overtime in the divisional round… Packers DL Rashan Gary had 7½ sacks in Green Bay’s first seven games but doesn’t have any since… Packers RB Josh Jacobs had 13 touchdown runs this season, putting him in a tie for fourth place in the league. Jacobs didn’t play against the Vikings and had just 39 yards rushing on 16 carries over his final two regular-season games as he dealt with a knee issue… The Bears won the NFC North for the first time since 2018 and made the playoffs for the first time since 2020. They have lost three straight postseason games since the 2010 team beat Seattle in a divisional game at Soldier Field… The Bears dropped their final two regular-season games, losing to Detroit on a last-second field goal after coming up short in a 42-38 shootout at San Francisco. They gave up 433 yards against the Lions after the 49ers went off for 496… If Chicago beats Green Bay, Ben Johnson would become the franchise’s first coach to win a playoff game in their first season… The Bears led the league in interceptions (23), takeaways (33) and turnover differential (plus-22) while committing a league-low 11 turnovers… Chicago won six games after trailing in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter… With seven interceptions, S Kevin Byard led the league for the second time in his 10 seasons.
