Packers and Bears receive deserved treatment from the NFL as their playoff rivalry matchup gets the stage it warrants
Packers and Bears will face off in the playoffs for the first time since the 2010 NFC Championship Game.
The Green Bay Packers will face the Chicago Bears for the third time this season, and it will be on Saturday night again. The NFL released the schedule for the wild card round of the playoffs, and the NFC North matchup will happen at 7 p.m. (CT) on Saturday, the second game of the postseason, on Prime Video.
The Bears lost to the Detroit Lions, 19-16, but still managed to secure the second seed in the NFC because, resting their starters, the Philadelphia Eagles lost to the Washington Commanders. The Packers had already locked the seventh seed.
“I think everything’s fluid in terms of how we go about the week,” head coach Matt LaFleur had said after the loss to the Minnesota Vikings. “A lot of it is going to be dependent upon which day we play. I do think we had a pretty good week of practice this last week for the guys we were trying to rest. They did get a lot of reps. We won a lot of good-on-good, our one offense versus our one defense. So I think we’re physically in a better place.”
Big third matchup
The Packers won their first matchup against the Bears on Dec. 7, 28-21, with Micah Parsons still healthy. On Dec. 20, though, the Bears achieved a comeback overtime victory, 22-16, which included an onside kick recovery. This game was also on a Saturday night.
While the Packers aren’t coming from the best sequence whatsoever, with a four-game losing streak, the Bears are also handling their own demons — they finished the regular season with two consecutive losses, to the San Francisco 49ers and Detroit Lions.
The Bears have the advantage of playing at Soldier Field, but the Packers will be rested — key players were not on the field against the Vikings, including quarterback Jordan Love, while the Bears played a four-quarter battle late in the afternoon on Sunday.
This is the first Bears-Packers game in the playoffs since the 2010 NFC Championship Game. Then, also at Soldier Field, the Packers won 21-14, paving the way for their most recent Super Bowl championship.
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