The spirit of competition in sports naturally breeds rivalry. While highly-contested play is largely the biggest reason for a rivalry to blossom, there is no doubt a number of factors and causes that can bring just a little more edge and hostility to what might otherwise be “friendly competition.” In a league that is more than 100 years old, like the NFL, that is certainly no exception.
With the recent schedule announcement and much of the offseason staff/roster excitement behind us, now is a great time for me to assess and rank my top 10 Chicago Bears rivals heading into the 2025 season.
Honorable Mentions (Bears’ All-time Record, including playoffs):
Atlanta Falcons (16-14),Dallas Cowboys (12-16), andPittsburgh Steelers (19-8-1)
NFL: Pittsburgh Steelers Minicamp Philip G. Pavely-Imagn Images
The first three teams I have missing the cut here share one thing in common – familiar faces. Specifically, a former Coach, General Manager, and… owner? The key one is Matt Eberflus, former Bears Head Coach, who has now taken over as the Defensive Coordinator in Dallas. Atlanta, meanwhile, has enjoyed the services of former Bears General Manager Ryan Pace as a front office executive since 2022. Obviously, I make the “owner” comment in jest as I refer to new Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers, but his history with Chicago is well-documented at this point. It’s worth adding that Eberflus and Pace likely played big roles in luring fan favorite former Bears like Jack Sanborn and Darnell Mooney to Dallas and Atlanta, respectively.
Ultimately, though, there isn’t enough strength in the recent history of these matchups (even the notorious Cassius Marsh – Steelers game) to warrant any of them taking the place of another team on this ranking.
10:Kansas City Chiefs (7-7 All-time, 0-1 2020s)
NFL: Kansas City Chiefs at Chicago Bears David Banks-Imagn Images
Let’s all count to 10 together, shall we? Obviously, if the Bears could manage to be halfway competitive in competition against the Chiefs, this could easily fly up the rankings. Even so, the fact that the Bears could have selected Patrick Mahomes in place of Mitch Trubisky in the 2017 draft is unavoidable, and Mahomes’ greatness has stood as a reminder of the Bears’ offensive futility ever since (that said, I’ve always felt Chicago would have limited his potential anyway).
That alone might land KC an honorable mention, if not for another familiar face in former Head Coach Matt Nagy. General consensus seems to have warmed on Nagy, now one ‘Flus removed from his run in Chicago. Still, seeing his success leaving the Bears adds a little more fuel to this rivalry.
9:Jacksonville Jaguars (6-3 All-time, 2-0 2020s)
NFL: London Games-Jacksonville Jaguars at Chicago Bears Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
Jacksonville is an interesting one. On one hand, they bungled their initial coaching search this offseason, which *may* have resulted in the Bears landing Ben Johnson without having to worry about them. Many thought Chicago and Jacksonville could be Johnson’s top 2 landing spots.
On the other hand, that bungling resulted in their delayed GM vacancy and interview process that led to Bears Assistant GM Ian Cunningham being pulled away from his usual responsibilities as he pursued the Jaguars GM job. We’ll never know what kind of impact that may have had on the Bears’ draft process, but Cunningham wasn’t selected for the job, the Bears weren’t rewarded compensatory draft picks, and this entanglement with Jacksonville was established that will see Ben Johnson directly compared to new Jacksonville Head Coach Liam Coen.
Both offensive-minded head coaches will also have a 2024 1st-round WR at their disposal in the Bears’ Rome Odunze, selected at number 9 overall, and the Jaguars’ Brian Thomas Jr., the very next receiver taken at number 23 overall.
8:New York Jets (9-4 All-time, 0-1 2020s)
NFL: New York Jets Minicamp John Jones-Imagn Images
The Jets are a team that have multiple layers to a rivalry with the Bears. I’m sure most of you reading this are immediately jumping to the Justin Fields connection, and that’s completely fair. Fields stepping into the starting role for the J-E-T-S, less than 2 years removed from being serenaded by “we want Justin” chants in his final game for the Bears at Soldier Field, is the most interesting element to this one.
Caleb Williams vs Justin Fields will always be a story worth keeping an eye on, even if most fans in Chicago don’t hold any negativity towards the latter. The additional layer to this rivalry comes from the new coaches as both Ben Johnson and new Jets Head Coach, Aaron Glenn, took their new posts this offseason after departing the Detroit Lions coaching staff. It will be intriguing to see how Johnson’s Bears compare to Glenn (former Lions DC) and his Jets in the coming years.
7:Las Vegas Raiders (9-8 All-time, 2-0 2020s)
NFL: Las Vegas Raiders Minicamp Candice Ward-Imagn Images
The Raiders are another team on this list that was considered to be a suitor for Ben Johnson this offseason. However, unlike others, Las Vegas was perhaps the team most likely to have tempted the then-Lions OC to take their vacancy. If you can put yourself back in time, you may recall that many actually expected Tom Brady’s Raiders to do just that after the Lions had been eliminated from the playoffs.
Fortunately, that wasn’t to be, and instead, Pete Carroll finds himself in the desert with Geno Smith in tow. The Bears have gotten the better of the recent matchups, but the Ben Johnson saga seems to have fired up an already fiery Raiders fanbase and with both teams looking to reestablish themselves this season, there’s plenty of fuel for a rivalry to burn here.
6:Carolina Panthers (9-4 All-time, 3-0 2020s)
Carolina Panthers v Chicago Bears Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images
This feels like the point where things are officially heating up. The Panthers are the team that got me thinking about this rivalry ranking in the first place about a year ago. In the wake of the “Bryce Young trade,” (short for the “Bryce Young for DJ Moore, Darnell Wright, Tyrique Stevenson, Caleb Williams, Tory Taylor, and Luther Burden III trade”). tensions between these otherwise neutral fanbases elevated to borderline uncomfortable levels.
Poor J.B. couldn’t even put out an obviously satirical article without getting pounced on by Sir Purr’s faithful. As a former North Carolina resident myself, I can say you hate to see people blessed with such beautiful weather get caught up in the frustration of a painfully inept franchise. As a Bears fan, I can say that it’s perfectly fine to get caught up in the frustration of a painfully inept franchise, and I get it. All joking aside, the Panthers showed some signs of life in the latter half of last season, so even though the Bears appear to have gotten the better of them, the end of this story may not yet have been written.
5:New England Patriots (5-11 All-time, 1-1 2020s)
New England Patriots v Chicago Bears Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images
While the Bears’ new Head Coach has thus far been a common theme in a few rivalries, another theme to look for is the Bears’ starting quarterback: Caleb Williams. Williams obviously was taken 1st overall in the 2024 draft, a draft which featured one of the most highly-touted QB classes in recent history and has (at least through one season) not disappointed.
One of the most notable of Williams’ peers is the New England Patriots’ Drake Maye, who was selected with the 3rd overall pick. Not only will Williams and Maye be continuously linked throughout their careers, but they’ve already gone head-to-head with Maye and the Patriots getting the (unexpected) victory over the Bears at Soldier Field last season. Of course, you can sprinkle in a little coaching intrigue in the form of the Ben Johnson/Mike Vrabel hires to further spice this up if you’d like, as these two were widely viewed as the sole names on the top tier of available head coaching candidates this offseason. The greater potential for sustained competition gives New England an edge over Carolina in these rankings for me.
4:Washington Commanders (25-28-1 All-time, 1-2 2020s)
Chicago Bears v Washington Commanders Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images
Now, it should go without saying that every point I made about Drake Maye goes for Jayden Daniels to an even greater extent. Daniels was selected with the 2nd overall pick, right behind Williams, and went on to have one of the greatest rookie seasons for a quarterback ever. That season, of course, included a now infamous victory over the Bears on a Hail Mary play that signaled the derailment of the season for Chicago.
Despite the differences in record, these teams played in a classic last season and seem primed to have a rivalry for the foreseeable future, as long as the Bears are up to the task. In fact, given the intrigue of the recent matchups, the hostility that has been built, and the potential for more, I very nearly placed Washington ahead of the next team on the list, until very recent developments made it clear that just wouldn’t be possible.
3:Minnesota Vikings (58-68-2 All-time, 2-8 2020s)
Chicago Bears v Minnesota Vikings Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images
At this point in the rankings, the entries shouldn’t really be as surprising (as much as I’d have loved to hit you with a wild “#2 will SHOCK you”). What might surprise you, though, is that I nearly didn’t have Minnesota ranking this high. When looking at this rivalry ranking for specifically the upcoming season, I felt pretty strongly about the case I just made for Washington, almost enough for them to overtake a division rival. But then… the book. The recent drama that emerged around Caleb Williams’ pre-draft feelings about the Bears definitely ratcheted up the intrigue in a Minnesota matchup after Williams apparently claimed to prefer the Vikings as a landing spot in the 2024 draft over Chicago.
When you add that to the historical context between the franchises and relatively competitive games a season ago, you get a really solid foundation. You can throw the Kevin Warren factor in, if you’d like, since the Bears' President and CEO previously served as the Vikings' COO, but what’s most interesting to me about this rivalry is watching the path each team has taken since 2022. That was the year in which both teams had a vacancy at both GM and Head Coach. The Bears hired Ryan Poles and Matt Eberflus and are now onto Ben Johnson, while the Vikings hired Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and O’Connell and have made two playoff appearances.
2: Detroit Lions (105-80-5 All-time, 4-6 2020s)
Detroit Lions v Chicago Bears Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images
The runner-up is this ranking is the team that pulled off the kind of franchise turnaround that everyone in Chicago is hoping to emulate. In fact, they lured away one of the key figures of that turnaround to help lead the way in new Head Coach Ben Johnson. You may or may not have noticed this, but that created a little bit of hostility amongst the fanbase in the silver and blue. It’s true. While may of us Bears fans hoped or expected (maybe even manifested?) Ben Johnson’s arrival in Chicago, the fact that he chose a division rival when he had many suitors, definitely rubbed Lions fans the wrong way, particularly in the immediate aftermath of a tough playoff loss to the Washington Commanders.
Lions players have already voiced their opinions about wanting to get the best of Ben, whether they say it in the spirit of “friendly” competition or not, and that feeling is sure to be reciprocated. That’s not to mention that despite the Lions’ ascension in recent years, the Bears have managed to play them tough in recent matchups, nearly splitting wins in the 2020s, including some close games that really could or should have gone Chicago’s way. Players-wise, I’ll mention the Sewell brothers, I guess, but the David Montgomery – D’Andre Swift pseudo-trade is the more interesting element at play. All said, these will be two can’t-miss matchups in the season ahead.
1:Green Bay Packers (96-108-6 All-time, 1-9 2020s)
Chicago Bears v Green Bay Packers Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images
I mean, come on, it had to be. Right? There is certainly a case to be made regarding the level of recent competition between the Bears and Packers and how one-sided it has been in the modern era, being enough to rationalize dropping this rivalry. Even so, that feels almost sacrilegious. The 2025 Green Bay rivalry may not have the recent back-and-forth that the matchups with Detroit have seen or even some of the off-the-field intrigue that the Minnesota rivalry has had added recently, but that doesn’t mean this is coasting on pure nostalgia either.
There was certainly plenty of on-the-field drama in the most recent game between these two as Caleb Williams led the Bears into scoring position and Cairo Santos sealed a victory in Lambeau Field this past January. The players on both sides also seem to continuously buy into this rivalry, adding more weight when they go head-to-head. What’s exciting is that it seems to have even spread to the new coach, as Ben Johnson went out of his way to take a shot at the Packers' head coach, Matt LeFleur, during his introductory press conference when he cited that he “kind of enjoyed beating Matt LaFleur twice a year,” as a reason for wanting to stay in the NFC North. LeFleur, for his part, downplayed Johnson’s comments, but you have to imagine those words sitting at the back of is mind the next time these teams compete in the NFL’s most historic rivalry.
So, with the dust settled and a total of 13 teams named, how do you feel about this ranking? Are there any teams that I left out that deserve a spot, or maybe just a team that you feel is placed too high/low? This was a fun exercise to work through, and I’d love to see what the rest of the fanbase has to say about the Bears’ biggest rivals entering the upcoming season.