It’s common practice to have the NFL kickoff the season with the defending Super Bowl champion playing host on Thursday night in a marquee matchup. But this year, the 100th season of the league, is also the 100th season of Chicago Bears football. As a result, one of the league’s greatest and most storied rivalries takes center stage as the Chicago Bears host the Green Bay Packers on Thursday at 7:20 p.m. CST to officially kick off the 2019 NFL schedule. It’s the 14th year in a row that Packers vs. Bears has taken place in primetime, and the odds between two of the greatest rivals varies depending on who you ask.
The NFL’s oldest rivalry began in 1921, and if not for the strike-shortened season of 1982, would be the longest-running; however, it is the most played rivalry in league history at an astounding 200 games, some of which include some of the most memorable moments in football history. Combining for 22 NFL Championships, including five Super Bowls, while having 63 members enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, this rivalry has it all.
A few facts about the rivalry:
- 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).
- The two teams combined to play the coldest game in recorded Bears history.
On December 22, 2008, in the coldest game in recorded Bears history, with a temperature at the kickoff of 2 degrees and −13 degrees with the 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.
Subscribe to the BFR podcast and ride shotgun with Dave and Ficky as they break down Bears football like nobody else.
The latest Packers vs. Bears odds list Chicago as a field goal favorite, down from an open of 3.5, and the over-under is 46.5 points. Before you make any Bears vs. Packers picks, be sure to head over and read what Sports Mockery’s expert Erik Lambert has to say about this historic matchup.
This will be the 199th time these two franchises have met, but now the Packers have a new head coach, Matt Lafleur, for the first time in over a decade and the Bears have lost their defensive guru, Vic Fangio, who took the head coaching position in Denver.
The 10 Greatest Chicago Bears vs. Green Bay Packers Games
Green Bay is coming off a disappointing season (6-10), while the Bears are looking to prove the doubters wrong and repeat as conquers of the North. While the Packers hold a slim advantage (97-95-6) over Chicago in their storied history, look for the Bears defense to pick up right where it left off in terrorizing the former MVP, Aaron Rodgers.
Bears 31, Packers 17.
