The playoff game between the Packers and the Bears will be presented at 8 p.m. Saturday on RDS and on RDS.ca.
The Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers have played each other more often than any other NFL team. Elimination duels, on the other hand, are rare.
The Bears and Packers will write a new chapter in the league’s longest rivalry when they clash at Soldier Field on Saturday night.
This will be only the third time that the two teams have met in the playoffs, and the importance of this meeting has not escaped those who will participate.
“It’s an incredible rivalry, and playing them in the playoffs only makes it bigger,” Packers safety Xavier McKinney said. That makes this match all the more important. »
Bears tight end Cole Kmet grew up in the Chicago area and has always been a staunch supporter of the Packers’ big-time opponents. He now has a personal connection to the Packers: his sister is in a relationship with defensive tackle Lukas Van Ness.
“It means a lot to me,” Kmet said. Playing at home against Green Bay will create a special atmosphere. It almost feels like we’ve played them five or six times here in the last month. I think it will make this match even more epic. »
The Bears (11-6) host a playoff game for the first time since the 2018 season, when Cody Parkey’s missed field goal sealed their loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
They have lost their last three playoff games since beating the Seattle Seahawks in the conference semifinals at Soldier Field in 2010, and the end of that season remains a bitter memory for their fans. The Bears lost in the conference final to Aaron Rodgers and the Packers at home.
Green Bay (9-7-1) has dominated this rivalry in recent decades, but the last two seasons have been more balanced. Last year, both matches were decided on field goal attempts by Cairo Santos: one was blocked, the other successful.
Both games this season were close: the Packers won at Lambeau Field in Week 14, while the Bears triumphed in overtime two weeks later.
Johnson-led Bears turnaround
Under the impetus given by head coach Ben Johnson in his first season and the progress made by quarterback Caleb Williams during his second year, the Bears went from last place in their section to the title, a first since 2018.
They qualified for the playoffs for the first time in five years and clinched second place in the NL, but lost their final two regular season games: 42-38 to the San Francisco 49ers and 19-16 to the Detroit Lions.
Packers defense struggling without Parsons
The Packers have lost their last four games. Assured of seventh place in their association, they rested their best players last week against the Minnesota Vikings.
Qualifying for the playoffs while struggling was not what the Packers had envisioned at the start of the season. The acquisition of Micah Parsons had high expectations, but he suffered a season-ending knee injury in the Week 15 loss at Denver, and the defense struggled in his absence.
The Packers squandered second-half leads against the Broncos and at Chicago the following week, before allowing 307 rushing yards and losing 41-24 at home to the Baltimore Ravens.
The Packers are hoping for the return of their quarterback Jordan Love. He missed the final two regular season games after leaving the field during the loss at Chicago with a concussion.
Nixon featured in both duels this season
The Packers took the North Division lead in Week 14, overtaking the Bears with a 28-21 victory that came on Keisean Nixon’s interception in the end zone with 22 seconds remaining.
Two weeks later, Caleb Williams took his revenge by throwing a 46-yard touchdown pass to DJ Moore in overtime, giving the Bears victory (22-16). Trailing by 10 points in the last two minutes of regulation time, the Bears had climbed back up the slope.
Nixon was on the coverage for the game-winning touchdown, after, along with Nate Hobbs, leaving Jahdae Walker completely unmarked on the equalizer. Nixon is eager to face the Bears again.
“I didn’t want anyone else,” he said. I wanted the Bears.”
Little playoff history between these two rivals
The last time the Packets and Bears met in the playoffs, Aaron Rodgers got his revenge on Brett Favre and the Packers forced Jay Cutler off the field with a knee injury before winning 21-14.
Two weeks later, in Dallas, the Packers beat the Pittsburgh Steelers and brought the Lombardi Trophy back to the “City of Champions” for the first time since the team’s 1996 victory.
In 1941, George Halas’ Bears defeated Curly Lambeau’s Packers in the playoffs at Wrigley Field. The Bears then defeated the New York Giants in the NFL Championship Game, also played at Wrigley Field.
