When the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers meet for the 200th time Sunday at Lambeau Field, the Bears will be looking to defeat their rivals for a chance to improve to 8-6 and keep their slim playoff hopes alive.
But that’s easier said than done when you consider how the Bears-Packers rivalry has been completely one-sided this decade. In fact, of the 20 times the Bears and Packers have played over the last 10 years, the Packers have won 16 of those games.
The Packers defeated the Bears earlier this season 10-3 in Week 1, where the Bears offense was downright abysmal and Chicago’s defense allowed the game’s only touchdown.
But the Bears aren’t the same team that lost that Week 1 matchup. It’s been nearly a season since these teams last played. And the Bears might be peaking at just the right time for this game.
“We’re kind of in a rhythm now. We’re a different team,” quarterback Mitchell Trubisky said. “There were some things we had to go through in the first game and the beginning of the season that just didn’t go our way. And there’s things we learned from as an offense.
“I just feel like we have a new-found identity of what we want to do and everybody is really locked into what they have to do.”
With the Bears offense executing and their defense getting back defensive tackle Akiem Hicks, the arrow certainly seems pointed up. But can they execute against Aaron Rodgers and the Packers, who have seemingly been their kryptonite?
As the Bears prepare for their 200th meeting against their rivals, it’s a chance for the Bears to start to rewrite the rivalry in a positive way, one where losing to the Packers isn’t expected.
