When the Bears took their 10-game losing streak to Lambeau Field for the finale last season, interim coach Thomas Brown leaned on the calendar for motivation. It was Jan. 5. He implored them to get their first win of the year. It would, they hoped, usher in the Year of the Bears — or at least one markedly better than the mess that had led to coach Matt Eberflus’ firing on Nov. 29.
After Cairo Santos made a field goal against the Packers to win the game, quarterback Caleb Williams reflected on what it meant.
“Being able to have that moment was great,” he said.
But for it to be more than just a moment — for 2025 to truly be the Year of the Bears — Williams needs to be the best quarterback Sunday at Lambeau. He needs to beat a healthy Jordan Love, something that didn’t happen in Week 18 last season when, in the second quarter, Love landed on his right elbow and felt numbness in his hand. With a playoff spot already guaranteed, the Packers replaced him with backup Malik Willis.
A win Sunday would keep the Bears (9-3) in first place in the NFC and put another game between them and the Packers (8-3-1). But it also could signal a shift between the signal-callers in the NFL’s greatest rivalry.
“Everybody wants to see the quarterback matchup,” Love told reporters this week.
It has been more than 19 years since the same Bears quarterback won consecutive games against the Packers. Rex Grossman did it in December 2005 and September 2006.
But this year, in his second NFL season, Williams has shown a knack for emerging victorious, winning nine of his last 10 games and leading the Bears to five comebacks in the fourth quarter, even as coach Ben Johnson reiterated this week that the Bears are playing well despite, not because of, their passing attack.
“When it’s time to go make plays, when it’s time to maybe make a comeback, or when it’s time to put the game away, those times come,” Williams said. “Throughout the whole game, throughout [quarters] one through three and part of the fourth, it’s being able to make consistent plays, routine plays. And I think that’s what I’ve been trying to focus on for myself is just make the routine plays, make the consistent plays. . . . I’m going to keep trying my best to do that, and then when the time comes, go end the game.”
The seasonlong chirping between Johnson and Packers coach Matt LaFleur makes for good television. However, it’s the play of Williams and Love that will dictate the terms of the rivalry Sunday, again two weeks later at Soldier Field and potentially a decade into the future.
“That stuff all plays a part and makes it an even cooler game,” Love said. “The rivalry’s already there. And then, obviously, Caleb is doing some good things this season and trending up. I think that aspect plays another little part. . . .
“I like watching him on tape and seeing some of the cool things he does. It’ll be a good matchup.”
That rarely has been the case over the last two generations. In fact, the Bears ceding the rivalry is almost directly a result of the Packers having a distinct disadvantage at quarterback.
Created by the founder of Pro Football Reference, the “approximate value” stat is a way to measure a player’s value in each individual season. Since the Packers traded for Brett Favre in 1992, the Bears have had the starting quarterback with a better end-of-season approximate value just twice. In 2006, Grossman edged out Favre on the way to the Super Bowl. In 2022, Justin Fields rode the second-best rushing season for a quarterback to beat out Aaron Rodgers. But in neither case would anyone prefer the Bears quarterback over a Packers star.
Love has a chance to become the latest one. He has been better than Williams this season, with a 104.3 passer rating that’s fifth in the NFL. Only six quarterbacks have thrown for more touchdowns than his 19. Love also has thrown only three interceptions and has been sacked just 17 times.
“He’s making those reads quickly, making the right throws,” Bears linebacker T.J. Edwards said. “When he needs to, he’s extending plays and making big-time plays — and receivers are catching them.”
Love has led the Packers to a 6-2 record since their Week 5 bye, with the Bears 7-1 in the same span. By Sunday night, one team will have an extra loss and the other will sit in first in the NFC North with a month left to play.
“You know what the rivalry’s all about and obviously what the week brings,” Love said. “It’s a fun rivalry to be a part of. . . . You’ve got the top two teams in the NFC North going against each other, which I think feeds into each other a little bit more.”
May the best quarterback win.