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Bears WR Brandon Marshall

The Packers-Bears rivalry has been going on for 91 years. The Bears have won 92 of those games, the Packers have won 87, and they’ve played to six ties since the rivalry began in 1921.

When the Bears named Lovie Smith head coach in 2004, he clearly stated that his team’s No.1 goal would be to beat Green Bay.

But recently, the Packers have owned the rivalry. Green Bay has won seven of the past eight matchups, including a victory in the NFC Championship at Soldier Field in the 2010 season.

The most recent chapter of the longstanding rivalry was week two this year when the Packers dominated the Bears 23-10 at Lambeau Field. The offense was crisp, and the defense was stellar.

The Green Bay defense was tough against the run and the secondary silenced the Bears’ top receiver–Brandon Marshall.

Marshall caught just two passes for 24 yards in the first meeting. And after the game, Tramon Williams and Charles Woodson were vocal in their assessment of the Bears’ offense, and mainly, quarterback Jay Cutler.

“It’s the same old Jay,” Woodson said after the game. ”We don’t need luck, Jay will throw us the ball. Proof is in the pudding.”

Cutler, of course, publicly wished the Packers’ secondary “good luck” before the two teams met at Lambeau Field. It seems Cutler’s well wishes turned out well for the Packers, as cornerback Tramon Williams caught as many passes from Cutler as Marshall did–two.  Read more... (831 words + 5 images, estimated 3:19 mins reading time)

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Green Bay Packers, Chicago Bears, and the NFC Championship.

I don’t think it can possibly get any better than this.

After the Packers impressive 48-21 over the Atlanta Falcons and the Bears’ easier than it looked 35-24 win over the upstart Seattle Seahawks, both teams prepare to meet for only the second time in their long and storied rivalry. For the first time since 1941, the Packers and Bears get together for– to steal a line from Brent Musberger–all the Tostitos.

Since the Packers faced the Bears twice already this season, I don’t think it’s necessary to break them down once again. We know them well enough by now and the same could be said for the Bears knowing the Packers. It’s a division rivals against one another, so the familiarity between the two teams is rather obvious.

Instead let’s go ahead jump to FIVE (hey, it’s a big game alright?) keys to the NFC Championship

1. The condition of Soldier Field
Much has been made this week over the shape the sod in Soldier Field is in. It was already showing noticeable damage during the Seahawks game last week, and with brutal cold settling in across the entire Midwest, there hasn’t been enough time to re-sod the entire football field

With the game also expected to be played under cold temperatures, the condition of the field will be crucial to both teams. The Bears obviously have had some experience playing in it and the Packers have not. You would think that would give the Bears an edge, but the Packers have played their share of games in Lambeau with the sod coming up in chunks.  Read more... (1038 words + 1 image, estimated 4:09 mins reading time)

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In the very first meeting between the Packers and the Bears in 1921, there was a single moment that would foretell a future of heated battles. Chicago’s John (Tarzan) Taylor threw a sucker punch that broke the nose of Packers tackle Howard Buck. It would prove to be the opening salvo in what became a long and tenuous rivalry between Green Bay and Chicago.

7,000 fans at Wrigley field watched the Bears shut out the Packers that day by a score of 20-0. While a mere 200 miles separates these two cities, the differences couldn’t be greater. Small town Green Bay vs. big city Chicago. In 1921, Chicago was the second largest city in the country with a population of 2.7 million people. Green Bay was a blue-collar paper mill town with a population of only 31,000 people.

But while the cities’ demographics are at opposite ends of the spectrum, they do share a common bond, one of football greatness.

With Curly Lambeau and George Halas steering the ship, these two teams established themselves early on as the standard to aspire to. The Packers have won the most Championships in NFL History (12) and the Bears are second all-time with nine. The Bears have won 17 Division Championships, the Packers 13.

A total of 52 Pro Football Hall of Fame members (28 for the Bears and 24 for the Packers) have played in this rivalry. Names like Bronco Nagurski, Johnny Blood McNally, Red Grange, Don Hutson, Sid Luckman, Bart Starr, Gayle Sayers, Paul Hornung, Dick Butkus, Ray Nitschke, Walter Payton, Bret Favre.  Read more... (1399 words + 3 images, estimated 5:36 mins reading time)

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