For the 213th time, the oldest rivalry in the NFL writes a new chapter this upcoming Saturday, as the Green Bay Packers head to Chicago to take on the Bears in the Wild Card round. The two teams met twice during the regular season and split each matchup in dramatic fashion.
Green Bay comes into the NFC Playoffs as the no. 7 seed for the third consecutive year. On the other hand, Chicago clinched their first playoff berth since 2020 and took home the NFC North for the first time since 2018 as well.
The biggest factor that could sway this matchup either way is health. The Packers are pretty banged up as Jordan Love was unable to finish the last couple games in the regular season, Josh Jacobs has been hurt since Week 11, and their top receiver Christian Watson is questionable. That's without even mentioning that they are without Micah Parsons for a long time as well.
Chicago is also not 100 percent with CJ Gardner-Johnson already ruled out and their receiver room, which is already paper thin, is played through injuries as well. To put it simply, Chicago and Green Bay have experienced a long and successful but brutal past 18 weeks.
The previous two matchups between the Bears and Packers both were decided by one possession. The first matchup in Green Bay was sealed with a game-winning interception by Green Bay in the end zone with minimal time left, while the one in Chicago was decided by a 46 yard DJ Moore touchdown in overtime.
Green Bay lead for a majority of the previous matchup despite Jordan Love suffering an injury that sidelined him for most of the game. Love has not played a snap since that game in Chicago almost 4 weeks ago.
Love sat out the final games of the season against Baltimore and Minnesota, both games in which the Packers dropped. In fact, Green Bay ended the regular season on a 4-game losing streak. They come into the playoffs as arguably the coldest team in the bracket.
In year one under Ben Johnson, the Bears look like a completely new team. The rise of Caleb Williams, the deadly one-two punch of DeAndre Swift and Kyle Monangai, and a league-leading 32 interceptions is what has gotten the Bears this far.
I expect this game to be pretty reminiscent to the previous two matchups between Green Bay and Chicago. If Jordan Love is able to play like his regular self, don't be surprised if the Packers march into Soldier Field and end this magical season by the Bears.
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