5 Questions with LeRoy Butler: How the Packers will prepare for the Bears
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The Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears have been going head-to-head since 1921, starting with a 20-0 win by the Chicago Staleys over the Packers. There have been plenty of crazy moments in the years since.
The Packers will again meet the Bears on Dec. 7 with first place on the line in the NFC North and both teams coming into the game with a case for the top seed in the upcoming NFC postseason.
These are some of the most-memorable Packers-Bears battles – mostly memorable from Green Bay’s point of view, anyway.
The NFC championship: Green Bay 21, Chicago 14 (Jan. 23, 2011)
The stakes don’t get much bigger than the NFC championship game. Played at Soldier Field, the rivals met with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line, and the biggest play of the game also stands as one of the 10 biggest plays in Packers history. In the fourth quarter, Bears quarterback Caleb Hanie threw an interception right into the arms of defensive lineman B.J. Raji, who returned it 17 yards for a touchdown and gave the Packers the decisive points.
‘He’s got Cobb:’ Green Bay 33, Chicago 28 (Dec. 29, 2013)
The final game of the regular season was a winner-take-all battle at Soldier Field for the NFC North title and a playoff spot. Aaron Rodgers had fractured his collarbone earlier in the season against the Bears, but the Packers were able to claw their way into this position behind backup quarterback Matt Flynn despite five straight weeks without a win. Rodgers came back for the finale and tossed an unforgettable 48-yard touchdown pass to Randall Cobb with 38 seconds to go on fourth-and-8. Joe Buck’s call – “Floats it … COBB!” – was cemented into history and the Packers prevailed for a playoff berth.
The Instant Replay Game: Green Bay 14, Chicago 13 (Nov. 5, 1989)
There have been many instant replay moments in NFL history, but if you bring up the “Instant Replay Game” in Green Bay, everyone knows what game you mean. With less than a minute to go, Don Majkowski found Sterling Sharpe for what looked like the winning touchdown on fourth-and-long, although a penalty flag ruled Majik was beyond the line of scrimmage when he threw the ball. The Packers were dejected as the Bears celebrated on the sideline. Both teams were prepared for a victory-formation snap on the field, but officials conferred and went back to look at the tape on instant replay, then decided it was a legal pass after all. Bears fans will tell you otherwise to this day.
The Chester Marcol Game: Green Bay 12, Chicago 6, OT (Sept. 7, 1980)
Packers kicker Chester Marcol converted on two field goals, but his most memorable attempt of the game was blocked. The ball deflected off the helmet of Alan Page and back to Marcol, who picked it up and ran 25 yards in overtime for the winning points.
Aaron Rodgers’ second-half resurrection: Green Bay 24, Chicago 23 (Sept. 9, 2018)
The Packers overcame a 20-0 deficit after halftime, with Aaron Rodgers returning from what looked like a surefire long-term injury to bring the Packers back from the dead on “Sunday Night Football.” The dramatic night at Lambeau in the 2018 season opener was topped off by Rodgers’ 75-yard touchdown pass to Randall Cobb with 2 minutes, 13 seconds to go. Rodgers finished with 286 yards passing and three scores in just over one half.
Halloween: Green Bay 33, Chicago 6 (Oct. 31, 1994)
This game on a windy, rainy Halloween night may not have been the most competitive game in the rivalry, but it certainly typified it. Playing in 36-mph winds and adorned in mud on “Monday Night Football,” the Packers found their running game and won behind three rushing scores from Edgar Bennett.
Jennings for the win: Green Bay 21, Chicago 15 (Sept. 13, 2009)
Yet another season opener and another thriller on “Sunday Night Football,” and the Packers prevailed when Greg Jennings caught a 50-yard touchdown pass from Aaron Rodgers with 1:11 to go, mere moments after Robbie Gould’s field goal put the Bears up 15-13. Jay Cutler’s first pass after the ensuing kickoff was intercepted by Al Harris to seal the game.
Rodgers finds Jordy: Green Bay 30, Chicago 27 (Dec. 18, 2016)
Mason Crosby hit the game-winning field goal with 3 seconds to go, but the big play was a 60-yard reception by Jordy Nelson on third-and-11 that set up the winner after Chicago had rallied from a 17-point deficit to tie the game with 1:23 to go. The Packers badly needed the win to secure the North, and they would advance all the way to the NFC championship game.
Favre fights through a bad ankle: Green Bay 35, Chicago 28 (Nov. 12, 1995)
Aaron Rodgers isn’t the only quarterback to dazzle despite an injury in this rivalry. Brett Favre battled through a bad ankle injury to toss five touchdown passes and rack up 336 yards, and a LeRoy Butler interception in the end zone with less than 2 minutes to play helped thwart a game-tying attempt from the Bears. It was the start of a hot streak for the Packers to close the season, with six wins in seven games to claim the NFC Central title.
Lombardi vs. Halas: Green Bay 31, Chicago 28 (Nov. 12, 1961)
In a meeting between two of the greatest coaches in NFL history – Vince Lombardi and George Halas – the Packers held off hard-charging Chicago, which almost came all the way back from a 31-7 deficit behind three touchdowns from Mike Ditka. The Packers went on to win the NFL championship.
BONUS − One that went the Bears way: Chicago 14, Green Bay 13 (Nov. 7, 1999)
Sure, the Bears won this one, but looking back, it was pretty magical. Bears lineman Bryan Robinson got his hand on a field-goal attempt, deflecting a Ryan Longwell chip shot from 28 yards and helping the Bears hold on in the final seconds. It was the first Bears game after the death of franchise staple Walter Payton, and Robinson said afterward that Payton lifted him up high enough to block the kick.
The Packers perhaps got some atonement a quarter-century later when Karl Brooks blocked a would-be game-winning 46-yard field goal from Cairo Santos as time expired on Nov. 17, 2024, allowing the Packers to prevail 20-19.
BONUS − Jordan Love’s arrival tour: Green Bay 17, Chicago 9 (Jan. 7, 2024)
It probably won’t live for eternity the way that many of the others on this list will, but it was a big stepping stone in the career of current Packers quarterback Jordan Love, who capped his first regular season as a starter with a must-win performance that netted him NFC offensive player of the week. Love completed 27 of 32 passes for two touchdowns and 316 yards, and the Packers defense kept Chicago flummoxed to get Green Bay into the postseason at 9-8. The next week, Love posted a near-perfect passer rating in surprising Dallas in the wild-card round of the playoffs.
BONUS – The Lombardi Era begins: Green Bay 9, Chicago 7 (Sept. 27, 1959)
Green Bay was coming off a 1-10-1 season under head coach Ray McLean in 1958, marking the worst record in Packers history. So the organization turned to a former New Jersey high-school coach who’d risen up the ranks to an assistant position with the Giants. Vince Lombardi’s first game as a pro head coach wasn’t pretty, but the Packers recovered a mishandled Bears punt, and Jim Taylor’s fourth-quarter touchdown helped the Packers prevail in an upset against a Bears team that went 8-4 the year before. Green Bay finished 7-5 in 1959. The stage was set for a Packers team to reach the next three NFL championship games (winning twice), with another run of three championships from 1965-67.
(This article was updated to add new information.)