Each NFL division’s most significant rivalry of all time
By John Buhler
NFC North: Chicago Bears vs. Green Bay Packers
This is the NFL’s oldest rivalry. The Chicago Bears have played the Green Bay Packers twice annually for the last 100 years. In their 200 meetings to date, Green Bay holds a razor-thin edge of 99-95-6. Despite lengthy down cycles for both teams, this is the type of rivalry you can only hope to dream of. 100 years later, it’s about as close as you can ever get.
One strange anomaly in this century-old rivalry series is the Bears and Packers have only met in the postseason twice with them each splitting a game. This biggest reason for this is the Bears and Packers have only qualified for the playoffs in the same season four times. Chicago beat Green Bay in 1941 en route to an NFL championship. Green Bay returned the favor back in 2010.
To date, these two teams have claimed 22 NFL titles, 13 conference titles, 37 division titles and seven Super Bowl appearances. In the modern era, Green Bay has won four Super Bowls to the Bears’ one, but the 1985 Bears are considered among the greatest single-season teams in NFL history. Green Bay was cannon fodder in the 1970s and 1980s before remerging in the 1990s.
And it’s not just being two huge Midwestern football brands that makes this rivalry so compelling. Their rivalry represents the different paths the NFL would evolve. Chicago left Decatur to become the NFL’s first big-city franchise. Green Bay remains the only small-town market in the league, grandfathered in as the only franchise in the NFL without an owner: The fans own the Packers.