Browns DE Myles Garrett
Getty
Browns DE Myles Garrett
Trash talk is normal in the NFC North. What isn’t normal is another superstar defender stepping in to defend theChicago Bears quarterback.
That’s exactly what happened whenMicah Parsons andMyles Garrett started revisiting theGreen Bay Packers last season’s games against Chicago Bears quarterbackCaleb Williams.
Parsons missed the most painful stretch of Green Bay’s season after tearing his ACL late in the year, the stretch where Chicago beat the Packers twice, including the Wild Card round.
And one moment clearly stuck with him: Williams’ “Iceman” nickname and celebration after the Bears’ overtime comeback.
“I can’t lie, watching that, seeing him get that name… it was just grrr,”Parsons admitted.
Instead of piling on Chicago, Garrett flipped the conversation and defended the Bears quarterback by pointing out the obvious… Green Bay never finished the job.
Garrett: “You could’ve taken it from him… I guess you didn’t feel like taking him down last year.”
Parsons: “No, we beat him. When I was there, we beat him.”
Garrett: “But you didn’t get him.”
Parsons: “Nah… I didn’t get him. I should’ve though.
The games back it up
Bears QB Caleb Williams
GettyBears QB Caleb Williams
The Bears – Packers rivalry flipped last season:
Green Bay win with Parsons active: Packers 28-21 (0 sacks on Williams)
Micah Parsons injured: Bears OT comeback win 22-16
Playoffs: Bears comeback win 31-27
The Chicago Bears went 2-1 in the season series, and both Bears wins featured late-game heroics by Williams, the exact performances that created the “Iceman” reputation.
In the 2025 season, Caleb Williams threw for 3,942 yards, won the NFC North, and led seven comeback victories in the final two minutes, the most by any NFL team in at least half a century. Even further, his overtime strike to seal the rivalry game even won Moment of the Year honors.
Defensive stars rarely praise opposing quarterbacks publicly. Yet Myles Garrett repeatedly steered the conversation back to Williams’ resilience instead of dismissing it.
ABrowns superstar acknowledged it. A Packers superstar is bothered by it. That alone says everything the Bears needed to know.
What it means for 2026
Bears QB Caleb Williams
GettyBears QB Caleb Williams
Green Bay wants revenge. Micah Parsons openly admitted he should’ve finished plays he didn’t get the chance to. Chicago now knows the mission is simple… Keep Caleb Williams upright.
Because the discussion between two elite defenders revealed something important: The Bears didn’t just beat the Packers last season. They got in their head.
The Packers still believe the results would’ve been different with Parsons healthy, and 2026 will give them their chance to prove it. But until that happens, every meeting starts with the same mental hurdle: Green Bay knows what can happen late in games, and the Bears know it too.
If the Packers finally get to Williams in crunch time, the story resets and revenge takes over. But if the Chicago Bears take over again, then last season will look less like a lucky break and more like the beginning of a pattern.
Cause when opponents are still arguing about you in February, you’re no longer just a rising player in the rivalry… You’re the reason the rivalry feelsdifferent.