The Bears–Packers rivalry is a National Football League (NFL) rivalry between the Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers. The two clubs have won a combined 22 NFL championships (13 for Green Bay and 9 for Chicago), including 5 Super Bowl championships (4 for Green Bay and 1 for Chicago) and have 65 members in the Pro Football Hall of Fame (Chicago with 34 and Green Bay with 31.)
The rivalry began in 1921 and is the league's most played, with 194 regular-season and post-season games. (The rivalry is not the league's longest continuous rivalry, as the 1982 strike-shortened NFL season did not include a Bears–Packers game. That title goes to the Lions–Packers rivalry, who have played each other at least twice a year since 1932.) Because the Packers and Bears are in the same division—the NFC North—they play each other at least twice every regular season.
For the first time since September 24, 1933 and despite the Bears twice leading the series by as many as 24 games, in 1960, and again in 1992, the all-time series is now tied at 94–94–6.
Bears 20, Packers 0 (November 27, 1921) – The two organizations played for the first time in 1921 at Chicago, when the Bears were nicknamed the Chicago Staleys. Bears' Gaylord "Pete" Stinchcomb scored the game's first touchdown on a 45-yard run. The Bears shut out the Packers 20-0 in their first meeting, and the rivalry was born. A year later, the Staleys changed their team name to the Bears.
Bears 3, Packers 0 (November 23, 1924) – The Bears–Packers rivalry can be credited for the first ever ejection of players for fighting during an NFL game. The Bears' Frank Hanny and Packers' Tillie Voss were ejected before the end of the first half as verbal exchanges led to punches being thrown. Two years later, Hanny was ejected once again in a game versus Green Bay.
Packers 7, Bears 0 (September 28, 1930) – The Packers shut out the Bears for the fifth consecutive game in this contest which is the longest such streak in the series. The streak began in 1928 when the Packers defeated the Bears 6–0 on December 9 of that season. In 1929 the Packers shut out the Bears three times, 23–0, 14–0, and 25–0 en route to their first NFL championship. On November 9, the Bears finally scored on the Packers although they came up short in the final score 13–12. The Packers won their second consecutive NFL title that season.
Packers 16, Bears 14 (November 2, 1941) – The Bears came into the game undefeated and seemingly invincible. Over their first five games, they defeated their rivals by an unprecedented 157 points. However, the Packers upset them in this game which was the Bears lone defeat that season. The Associated Press wrote of the game that the "Chicago Bears myth is broken". Chicago fans made accusations that the game had been fixed, and it was suggested that the Packers had employed a "secret" defensive scheme. The Packers had built a 16–0 lead through the first three quarters of play before the Bears mounted a comeback in the fourth quarter coming up just short of a win.
Bears 33, Packers 14 (December 14, 1941) – In the first playoff meeting between the two rivals, the Bears defeated the Packers 33–14 in a one-game-playoff to determine the Western Division championship. After the Packers, the Bears defeated the New York Giants en route to their fourth NFL Championship. Until the 2010 post-season, this remained the only playoff meeting between the teams.
Packers 49, Bears 0 (September 30, 1962) – Vince Lombardi's Packers shutout George Halas' Bears, 49–0 at City Stadium, the Packers largest margin of victory in the rivalry. The team repeated that score against the Eagles six weeks later on Nov 11, 1962. The games remain a Packers team record for most points in a shutout victory. After again defeating the Bears later in the season, this time by a score of 38–7, the Packers won their 8th NFL championship. Motivated by the two humiliating losses to the Packers, Halas spent the off-season focusing on beating the Packers. In 1963, the Bears handed the Packers their only two losses, and won their 8th NFL championship.
Packers 23, Bears 12 (September 13, 1964) – Remembered as the "Free Kick Game" because the Packers invoked the surprising "Fair catch kick rule", which allows for a place or drop kick field goal attempt from the spot of a fair catch. Elijah Pitts fair caught a Bears punt on the Bears' 48-yard-line just before the end of the first half. Packers' coach Vince Lombardi opted to attempt a free kick. Confusion ensued as neither team had ever so much as even practiced a free kick. The Packers lined up at the line of scrimmage with Bart Starr holding for Paul Hornung. Hornung made the 52-yard field goal as the first half ended. The Packers stunned all in attendance with the kick, and won the game 23–12.
Bears 13, Packers 10 (November 3, 1968) – The Bears got their revenge on the Packers, beating them 13–10 on a fair catch free kick by Mac Percival at the 43-yard line after a Packers punt with :26 left in the game. Percival kicked a game-winner the week before against the Minnesota Vikings.
Bears 2, Packers 0 (August 7, 1971) – Although it was only an exhibition — Dan Devine's first as head coach of the Packers – it will long be remembered as an exercise in futility. The Bears won when 6-foot-7 quarterback Frank Patrick of the Packers, who had been drafted as a tight end the year before and miscast as a quarterback, faded back to pass in the third quarter beyond the end line at Milwaukee's County Stadium for a safety and the only score of the game.
Packers 12, Bears 6 (September 7, 1980) – With the score tied 6–6 and the game in overtime, Packers kicker Chester Marcol was called in to attempt a game-winning field goal. The Bears' Alan Page managed to break through and block the field goal, with the football hitting his helmet. The ball rebounded to Marcol, and, carrying the ball, he crossed the goal line to score the winning touchdown for the Packers.
Bears 61, Packers 7 (December 7, 1980) – In the game, the Bears scored eight offensive touchdowns. After the Packers had suffered the second-most lopsided defeat in their history, Bart Starr charged across the field to confront Bears coach Neill Armstrong. Starr was upset because Bears defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan had the Bears blitzing from all angles in the fourth quarter, even after the Packers inserted backup quarterback David Whitehurst with the score 48-7. "Bart Starr was upset," Armstrong said after the game. "He did the talking and I did the listening. He said he'd rather not hear what I had to say, something to that effect, and he left." Two years later, Bill Tobin, the Bears' vice president of player personnel at the time, revealed that he had been instructed by general manager Jim Finks during the off-season to study film and decode the Packers' signal system for relaying plays to the quarterback. Tobin, who had been in the Packers' front office during the Devine years, had been fired by Starr in 1975 as part of a wholesale housecleaning. "I went at it like a tiger does good meat," Tobin said at the time. "We wanted 100 points," defensive end Dan Hampton said. "It couldn't happen to a nicer bunch of pricks."
Bears 23, Packers 7 (October 21, 1985) – The world was introduced to rookie defensive lineman William "The Refrigerator" Perry on Monday Night Football. In goal line situations, Bears head coach Mike Ditka used Perry, who weighed roughly 300 lbs. in the fullback position. Twice, Perry led the way for Bears legend Walter Payton on two- and one-yard touchdown runs. In the second quarter, "the Fridge" was given the ball and plunged into the end zone for one of the heaviest touchdowns in NFL history. The Bears won 23–7, and "The Fridge" was born.
Bears 16, Packers 10 (November 10, 1985) – Before the game, the Packers placed horse manure in the Bears locker room. Two weeks after the Monday Night Game, tempers reached a boiling point in the rivalry. Packers cornerback Mark Lee was ejected after he and Bears running back Walter Payton went flying over a bench in the first quarter. A few minutes later, Packers safety Ken Stills was flagged for leveling Matt Suhey, Payton's backfield mate, well after the whistle.
Bears 12, Packers 10 (November 23, 1986) – In Week 12 of the 1986 season Green Bay defensive tackle Charles Martin wore a towel with a hit list of specific Bears numbers written on it, such as No. 34 Walter Payton, No. 9 Jim McMahon, and others. Following a McMahon interception Martin came up from behind and body slammed him to the turf, separating McMahon's shoulder, ending the quarterback's season. Martin was suspended for two games, at the time the longest suspension in NFL history.
Packers 14, Bears 13 (November 5, 1989) – This became known as the "Instant Replay Game". Packers quarterback Don Majkowski led the Packers to a comeback with an apparent game-winning touchdown pass to wide receiver Sterling Sharpe. The play was called a touchdown, but line judge Jim Quirk had called a penalty on Majkowski for being beyond the line of scrimmage when he threw the pass. A nervous and tense crowd at Lambeau Field waited as the call went up to the instant replay official. Several minutes later, the call came down and the touchdown was awarded as recorded by instant replay, providing the Packers their first victory over the Bears since 1984. This led to a change in the "illegal forward pass" rule which defined when to consider a passer past the line of scrimmage. The rule used to be judged by the position of the ball instead of the passer's feet. Bears coach Mike Ditka ordered that an asterisk be placed next to the result in all team publications.
Packers 33, Bears 6 (October 31, 1994) - Playing with a severely bruised hip in a driving rainstorm at Soldier Field on Halloween Night, Brett Favre rushes for a career-high 58 yards – including a 36-yard touchdown in the second quarter when he leaped over a Bears defender. After the game Favre said "Maybe Gale Sayers (who had his number retired that night along with Dick Butkus) got excited about that one". With a win in that game, Green Bay began a ten-game winning streak against the Bears as Favre was considered a "Bear-killer" by members of the Chicago Bears media and fans alike. This game marked the beginning of two streaks in the series. The Packers won ten consecutive games in the series (the longest between the two clubs) and also eleven consecutive away games – a streak that did not end until the 2005 season.
Packers 27, Bears 24 (September 11, 1995) - Brett Favre throws a 99-yard touchdown pass to Robert Brooks – one of only 13 times in NFL history a 99-yard TD pass has ever been completed. Green Bay stormed to a 27–7 lead and had 431 yards on offense compared to Chicago's 243, Although Chicago scored 17 unanswered at the end, they came up just short as time expired. The game was featured nationally on Monday Night Football.
Packers 35, Bears 28 (November 12, 1995) - Coming into this much-anticipated matchup, first place in the NFC Central division was on the line. A victory would give the Packers the same record as the Bears (6–4) and would mean a series sweep, giving Green Bay the head-to-head tie-breaker should the teams be tied at season's end. Brett Favre had a badly sprained ankle, which kept his status for the game uncertain. He had not been able to practice all week until the Friday prior to the game. Not only did Favre start, but he had his best game of the season up to that point. He completed 25 of 33 passes for 336 yards and a career-high five touchdowns. Bears QB Erik Kramer also had a solid game, going 23 of 38 for 318 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. The teams combined for 800 yards of offense. The game was not decided until Kramer threw an incomplete pass in the Packers' end zone on the final play of the game.
Packers 24, Bears 23 (October 12, 1997) – In one of the more back-and-forth contests in the rivalry, the Bears got off to a 10–0 lead thanks in part to a rushing touchdown by Raymont Harris in the first quarter before the Packers came back to take a 14–10 halftime lead due to a rushing score by Dorsey Levens. In the third quarter, Erik Kramer ran for a three-yard touchdown to put the Bears back in front, 17–14. However, in the waning seconds of the third quarter, Brett Favre connected with Mark Chmura for a touchdown. The Packers led, 21–17, then extended their lead to 24–17. The Bears marched down the field and scored when Kramer connected with Chris Penn with less than two minutes left. In an "all-or-nothing" maneuver, the Bears went for a two-point conversion. The pass fell incomplete, essentially preserving the win for the Packers.
Bears 14, Packers 13 (November 7, 1999) – In their first game since the passing of running back Walter Payton, the Bears defeated the Packers for the first time since 1993 on a blocked field goal by defensive tackle Bryan Robinson. This game was also the game where Brett Favre surpassed Ron Jaworski's record for most consecutive starts by a quarterback.
Packers 34, Bears 21 (October 7, 2002) – This Monday night contest at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois, was the only Bears home game in the entire series that was played outside of Chicago. Brett Favre threw an 85-yard TD pass to Driver in the first quarter—the second longest of his career to that point (both against the Bears). At the time, Soldier Field was undergoing a major renovation; the renovated stadium would later reopen in 2003 between the Bears and Packers.
Bears 26, Packers 0 (September 10, 2006) – In the opening week of the season, the Bears handed Brett Favre his first shutout in his 16-year career, winning 26–0 in Green Bay. The Bears' offense, criticized for being conservative, opened the game with a 49-yard touchdown pass from Rex Grossman to Bernard Berrian. This also marked the first game in which the Bears' Devin Hester returned a punt for a touchdown.
Bears 20, Packers 17 (December 22, 2008) – The coldest game in recorded Bears history featured a temperature at kickoff of 2 degrees and −13 degrees with wind chill. The Packers traveled to Soldier Field on a Monday night, where a victory against the Bears would have ended their playoff hopes. The Bears had to rally from a 14–3 score at the half. The Bears were able to score after a turnover on a Packers punt return. The Packers were on the verge of finishing a game-winning drive when Mason Crosby's field goal attempt was blocked by Alex Brown, pushing the game to overtime. The Bears took the first possession in overtime and won the game on a 38-yard field goal by Robbie Gould.
Bears 20, Packers 17 (September 27, 2010) - The 2-0 Packers traveled to Chicago for an early season showdown with the Bears (2-0) for the NFC North lead. The Bears wore throwback 1940s jerseys to honor the Monsters of the Midway. They also honored former Bear George Blanda, who died Monday, with a moment of silence before the game. Aaron Rodgers threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Greg Jennings to open the scoring in the first quarter. Mason Crosby made it 10-0 with 4:45 left in the second quarter, but Jay Cutler drove the Bears down and connected with Greg Olsen for a touchdown with 31 seconds left. Late in the 3rd quarter, Julius Peppers blocked a 37-yard field goal attempt by Mason Crosby to keep it 10-7 Packers. Devin Hester then opened the 4th quarter with a 62-yard punt return for a touchdown to make it 14-10 Bears. It was the 12th time Hester had returned a kickoff or punt for a touchdown and the first since Dec. 30, 2007. Aaron Rodgers led the Packers on a drive that resulted in him getting into the end zone on a 3-yard scamper to make it 17-14. However, the Packers were left to regret a sloppy performance, as they recorded a team record 18 penalties. The Bears took advantage, with Robbie Gould kicking a field goal with 4:03 left and then 0:08 left to claim a 20-17 victory.
Packers 10, Bears 3 (January 3, 2011) - The 9-6 Packers hosted the 11-4 Bears in a must-win game in order to enter the playoffs. The Bears had the main goal of keeping their archrival out of the playoffs. With both teams coming off of high scoring victories (the Packers beat the Giants 45-17 and the Bears beat the Jets 38-34), a shoot-out was anticipated. However, the frozen tundra yielded a defensive battle. The first quarter was scoreless. In the second quarter, Robbie Gould kicked a 30-yard field goal to make it 3-0 Bears. It wasn't until late in the 3rd quarter that Mason Crosby kicked a 23-yard field goal to make it 3-3. With 2:50 left in the 4th quarter though, Aaron Rodgers hit tight end Lee for a 1-yard touchdown pass to make it 10-3. Jay Cutler was 21 of 39 for 168 yards, no touchdowns and 2 interceptions. Aaron Rodgers was 19 of 28 for 229 yards, with one touchdown and no interceptions. Erik Walden had a superb game for the Packers. The linebacker registered 11 tackles and 3 sacks.
Packers 21, Bears 14 (January 23, 2011, NFC Championship Game) – This was the first time the two teams had met in the playoffs since 1941. The Green Bay Packers started off strong with an early 14–0 lead on an Aaron Rodgers rushing TD. Bears' quarterback, Jay Cutler, was injured late in the second quarter, and was unable to continue. After Bears' quarterback Todd Collins proved ineffective, going 0 for 4 on two drives, the Bears brought in Caleb Hanie, who scored a touchdown to make it 14–7. On the very next Bears drive, however, Hanie would be intercepted by B.J. Raji, who took it to the endzone to make it 21–7 late in the game. The Bears would answer with another TD. With one more drive to tie the game, Hanie threw his second interception, this time to Sam Shields to end the game and send Green Bay to the Super Bowl. The Packers went on to win Super Bowl XLV.
Bears 27, Packers 20 (November 4, 2013) – Heading into this Monday Night match-up at Lambeau Field, Bears' quarterback Jay Cutler was benched with a groin injury. Thus, Josh McCown, the backup quarterback of the Bears who had played in Lambeau against the Packers on Christmas Day in 2011, played in Cutler's stead. In the first drive of the game, Packers' quarterback Aaron Rodgers was sacked by Shea McClellin, which fractured Rodgers' left collarbone and sent him out of the game. McCown threw for 272 yards and two touchdowns, and no interceptions. Seneca Wallace, the backup quarterback for the Packers, threw for 114 yards and no touchdowns, with one interception. The Bears won the game 27-20 to end a six-game skid to the Packers and beat them for the first time in Lambeau Field since 2007. Aaron Rodgers would be out for 7 weeks, eventually returning in Week 17 against the Bears for the NFC North title.
Packers 33, Bears 28 (December 29, 2013) – In a game with the NFC North Championship and the No. 4 seed in the playoffs on the line, the Packers faced off against the Bears with quarterback Aaron Rodgers in his first start since their last meeting in early November, the game in which he was injured. The game was notable for a Rodgers fumble to touchdown that occurred when most players from both teams believed the play to be an incomplete pass. The game also showcased an offensive shootout in the second half, including Bears quarterback Jay Cutler throwing for two touchdowns. However, the Packers ended their last drive converting on 4th down three times, most notably in a long 4th and 8 completion to Randall Cobb for a touchdown that would win the game and deliver Green Bay its 3rd consecutive NFC North title. The loss meant the Bears missed the playoffs for a third straight year, while the Packers made their fifth consecutive trip to the playoffs.
Packers 55, Bears 14 (November 9, 2014) – Aaron Rodgers tied an NFL record with 6 touchdown passes in the first half in a blowout win for the Packers, the most lopsided win over the Bears for the Packers since 1962 and their highest point total in a game since 1945. Bears' kickoff returner Chris Williams tied an NFL record with 10 kickoff returns in a game, one of which went for a 101-yard touchdown.
Bears 17, Packers 13 (November 26, 2015) – On the night of Brett Favre's jersey retirement, the Bears met the Packers at Lambeau Field for a Thanksgiving match-up. With a 4-6 record and having lost to the Packers earlier in the year, Chicago entered the game as huge underdogs. While the Bears' offense stalled in the first quarter, the Packers took a 7-point lead on a touchdown pass from Aaron Rodgers to Eddie Lacy. In the second quarter, the Bears scored two touchdowns, while the Packers settled for two field goals, making the score 14-13 at halftime. The Bears scored one more field goal in the fourth quarter while their defense pitched a second half shutout, including a goal line stand in the game's final seconds. The game marked the first win for Jay Cutler in Lambeau Field, as well as his first win against the Packers since 2010.
Packers 30, Bears 27 (December 18, 2016) - With Green Bay one game down in the all time head to head series, and needing a win to move within a game of the division lead, the Packers entered Soldier Field during one of the coldest Chicago Bears games on record. With both teams tied at halftime 10–10, Green Bay surged to a 27-10 advantage in the third quarter, before the Chicago Bears made a run of their own in the fourth quarter to bring them within 3 points, and in striking distance of the Green Bay end zone. Green Bay held the Bears to a field goal after a goal-line stand. During the Packers' ensuing possession, quarterback Aaron Rodgers completed a 60-yard pass to Jordy Nelson (Rodgers' longest completion of the season), which led to a Packers field goal as time expired.
The Bears and Packers have made it to the playoffs in the same year only four times.
1941 The Bears would go on to win the championship early on in the rivalry. This was also the only playoff game in which the two teams had played against each other until the NFC Championship game of the 2010 season.
1994 Both teams won first-round games only to be knocked out in the second-round games, seeing the 49ers go on to win the Super Bowl.
2001 The Bears had a first round bye but the Packers were the only one of the two teams to win a playoff game this year. The Packers had also given the Bears 2 of their 3 regular season losses that season. The Bears were knocked out at home by the Philadelphia Eagles while the Packers lost to the eventual Super Bowl runner-up St. Louis Rams.
2010 The two teams met on the last day of the season in what was a must-win for Green Bay. The Packers won 10–3 to capture the last wild card spot, while the Bears had already secured a first-round bye. Green Bay clinched a trip to the NFC Championship by virtue of a 21–16 win over Philadelphia in the Wild Card round and then defeating Atlanta, 48–21, in a divisional playoff. The Bears defeated Seattle in the other divisional playoff, 35–24. Both teams advanced to the NFC Championship game, only their second playoff game against each other. Many fans of both teams describe the game as the biggest in the history of the rivalry, with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line. The Packers would ultimately prevail 21–14 and go on to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLV.
Statistics and records
As of November 18, 2016, there have been 194 games between the two teams—most in NFL history—since their first league game in 1921, of which the both teams have won 94 games and there have been 6 ties. The largest margin of victory was a 61–7 Bears win on December 7, 1980. The longest winning streak is held by the Packers at 10 games from 1994–1998. After beating the Bears four times in 2011, the Packers became only the second team in NFL history to defeat the same opponent four times in one calendar year (the Los Angeles Raiders defeated the Denver Broncos four times in 1994).
As of 2015, the Bears and Packers have won a combined 22 championships in the league's history.
Table correct through the end of the 2015 season.
Updated December 18, 2016.
This is a list of results from all of the meetings between the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers from their first meeting in 1921 to the present.
Packers outscore Bears 144–124
Bears outscore Packers 280–231
Bears outscore Packers 489–286 (this does not include the 1941 playoff game)
Bears outscore Packers 492–374
Packers outscore Bears 416–233
Bears outscore Packers 326–311
Bears outscore Packers 373–268
Packers outscore Bears 452–358
Packers outscore Bears 439–362
Packers outscore Bears 379–247 (this does not include the 2011 playoff game)
* – Denotes a Playoff Game
