Bears vs Packers: The Longest Running Rivalry In The NFL

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Jake Sonetz

The bears and the packers have their first rival match-up in week two during a Sunday night prime time game.

Jake Sonetz, Sports reporter

104 wins to 95 wins, the Green Bay Packers and the Chicago Bears have the longest rivalry in the NFL. The two teams have played each other 205 times throughout NFL history. There have been six ties, 104 wins for the Packers, and 95 for the Bears. Fans in these two neighboring states, Illinois and Wisconsin, have feelings of repulsion toward the other team. While Packer fans wear cheese hats to represent their state, Bears fans will wear cheese graters. The historic rivalry has shown many ups and downs for both teams, currently, the Green Bay Packers have been on the uprise. The Packers have won the last seven games against the Bears and since the year 2010, the Packers have won the National Football Conference (NFC) North eight times.

When asked about the rivalry, Bears fans tend to relive the 1985 season and make a solid case on why that was the best team ever. Packers fans just have to mention number 12 and the conversation results in an unhappy Bears fan. Throughout the history of this rivalry, both teams have had amazing players. The player that has upset Bears fans the most is Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers is one of the best quarterbacks of all time and has a good chance of making the Hall-of-Fame. He is notorious for destroying the Bears when given the chance. Last year, Rodgers showed some “love” toward a couple of Bears fans that were “flipping him off” after he scored a touchdown, so he screamed to the stadium full of Bears fans, “I still own you!” This went viral and became a staple for Packer’s trash talk meanwhile Bears fans added this to the “list of reasons why they do not like Aaron Rodgers.” 

Since these two teams are in neighboring states, many Bears fans do live in Wisconsin and many Packers fans live in Illinois. This can lead to a “house divided” situation where there is one parent or sibling that is a Packers fan and the other parent or sibling is a Bears fan. Over the past couple of years, the Bears side of the family has been really quiet as evidence proves the Packers have been dominating not only the Bears, not only the National Football Conference (NFC) but the NFL as a whole.

After week one in the 2022-2023 season, Packers fans are looking more nervous than usual going into week two of Sunday night football against the Bears. The Packers were a two-point favorite at Minnesota on Sunday, Sept. 11, but the Vikings came out strong. The Packers were missing Aaron Rodgers former number one target, Davantae Adams. So the game got away from the Packers, and they ended up losing 23-7 to a very explosive Vikings team led by one of their best players, Justin Jefferson. Meanwhile, the Bears on the other hand were very confident going up to Lambeau Field on Sunday Night during week two to play the Packers. In week one, the Bears, despite being six and a half point underdogs, ended up beating the San Francisco 49ers. The Bears also had a slow start, losing 7-0 at half time, but they kept fighting and came back 19-10 to beat the 49ers. The Bears had an advantage as the 49ers started Trey Lance, who had his starting debut on Sunday. Also, the climate was a factor in the game as the California team did not adapt well to the Chicago weather.

This rivalry was noticeable during Sunday night football as the Bears and Packers were not holding back. The Packers started off getting a field goal, and the Bears answered with a touchdown. This close game spun out of control for the Bears as the Packers defense completely shut down the Bears’ offense for the rest of the first half. The Packers ended up winning the game 27-10, and both teams are now 1-1 in the season. This rivalry goes much deeper than two football teams playing one another twice a year. It is about year-round trash talk and personal differences with the neighboring state. At the end of the day, these two teams bring two amazing fan bases together to watch a great sport, and they have done that for over a century.