Bears WR Luther Burden III faces punishment from the NFL that many anticipated for his actions against the Packers in Week 14
Burden’s actions against Keisean Nixon did in fact lead to a fine.
The first matchup of the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers rivalry of the 2025 season certainly lived up to the hype last Sunday, coming down to the final play and even showing one exciting head-to-head battle that can make this rivalry even more exciting for years to come.
“I love it for our guys. This is what the football gods made football to be,” Bears head coach Ben Johnson said after the game. “Cold weather in December like this and Green Bay-Chicago, I think it is outstanding. I think it’s awesome to have this rivalry alive and well right now.”
Even with how the game ended and all the drama coming into the week, Sunday was a scrappy game at times for both seasons and the most egregious moment came during the second quarter when Bears rookie wide receiver Luther Burden III got into it with Packers cornerback Keisean Nixon.
After a run by Bears running back Kyle Monangai, Burden was seen mouthing with Packers cornerback Carrington Valentine. Nixon, seeing the to jawing, walked up in Burden’s face in his teammates defense. In response, Burden put his hand on Nixon’s throat, a clear no-no in the NFL.
But, somehow, the officials threw the unnecessary roughness penalty on Nixon and not Burden, something Packers head coach Matt LaFleur was irate about on the sidelines but he made sure to send the right message to Nixon after the game.
“We had a quick conversation and [told him], ‘You’ve got to be smart, you’ve got to keep your poise,’” LaFleur explained. “I get it. Football is an emotional game, especially when you talk about Packers-Bears. There’s just a heightened sense of emotion, but you’ve got to keep your poise at the end of the day, and you can’t do anything that hurts the team.”
NFL switches the blame for the Burden-Nixon incident
While Nixon was hit with the 15-yard penalty during the game, the NFL went back and looked at the footage and made sure to place the blame on the proper shoulders. Burden was fined $11,075 on Saturday for unnecessary roughness and no fine was given to Nixon.
Burden finished the game with a team-high 67 receiving yards on four receptions and continued to play with a physical mentality. Nixon, however, ended up getting the last laugh by securing the game-winning interception on the final play of the game. And it was a great heads-up play by him.
When these teams clash again next Saturday, this will be a matchup to watch to see if anything transpires between these two players again.
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