It's one of those games that both teams mark on their calendars every single year regardless of record or implications; it's a rivalry game no matter what, as the Green Bay Packers are taking on the Chicago Bears today from Lambeau Field at 12 PM CST. The Packers are 2-2 heading into this game, coming off their 17-14 victory against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where once again they sort of won ugly, but as usual, a win is a win. The Bears are 3-1 after their 23-12 win over the New York Jets and currently on a two-game winning streak despite missing their starting quarterback, Caleb Williams. Both teams would love nothing more than to take the first win in the rivalry of the season today.
The last time these two teams met was on January 10, 2026, at Soldier Field in Chicago for the NFC Wild Card playoffs. All Packer fans would prefer to forget that game as the Packers gave up a 21-3 lead to fall 31-27 to the Bears, ending their 2025 season. There wasn't more that Jordan Love really could've done as he put up 323 yards passing and four touchdowns, but it just wasn't enough. Perhaps it was a mix of a defensive collapse, getting conservative in the second half, and a kicker who is no longer among us that hurt the Packers. Hopefully, today, if the Packers get off to a lead as they did in that game, they put the pedal to the floor and put the game away.
Last week's game was a win, yes, but much like the Packers' first win of the season, it almost feels like a little bit of a loss too. The team lost Edgerrin Cooper to a season-ending Achilles injury, marking yet another key injury for the Packers this year. Ten accepted penalties made things sloppy, and two turnovers on offense, one fumble by Kaleb Johnson and an interception by Jordan Love while the team was in scoring range, made things ugly. But winning ugly is still winning. Clean up the penalties and the turnovers, and this game may look a bit better with another score or two on the board, especially with the improved play of the offensive line giving us a little bit of optimism.
But now, it's time for the real thing: Packers vs. Bears, let's get to it.
What to see on Offense
The Packers' offensive line was much improved last week. But that didn't result in Green Bay's offense just having their way, as they ended up still struggling a bit. Part of that was due to penalties early in drives that stalled the effort before it even got anywhere. Laken Tomlinson had his first game at left guard for the Packers but ended up with two infractions, a rarity for him as he is normally a very clean player. Perhaps some unfamiliarity still lurked, and hopefully that will be cleaned up from now on. Many signs point to Kevin Zeitler suiting up as the right guard today for the first time. We will see how that works out, but it's a step in the right direction, especially against the Bears' pass rush.
Dayo Odeyingbo leads the Bears with three sacks, followed by Montez Sweat and Austin Booker, who each have two. Given the uncertain state of the Packers' offensive line, it won't be a shock at all to see a lot of manufactured pressure from Chicago to test that line. If Jordan Love has time, though, there are wins to be had against the Bears' secondary. Dillon Thieneman has been great so far for the Bears at safety, but his partner at the position, Xavier Woods, has been a bit generous, giving up catches when isolated. Cam Lewis and Tyrique Stevenson have also been tested a lot in coverage this season, giving up catches when left alone in coverage. Christian Watson always seems to have big games against Chicago, and he, along with Matthew Golden, could have big games again today if Love has a clean pocket and finds Watson or Golden left in one-on-one matchups. Tucker Kraft may also be used to test Xavier Woods in the middle.
On to the run. Packers' running backs combined for 85 yards on the ground last week, which was a vast improvement. Especially given that in my preview last week, I did not expect them to do well. While Kaleb Johnson led with 42 yards on eight carries and Marshawn Lloyd had a highlight-reel leap over a Bucs defender, they still had their downsides, though. They both put the ball on the ground, with Johnson losing his close to the goal line. Matt LaFleur said the best teacher for fumbles is the bench, which made me curious all week whether or not we might finally see Pierre Strong Jr. elevated for a game, and it turns out with Chris Brooks being placed on IR, Strong was signed to the active roster. We will have to see what role Strong plays today and whether or not he receives a larger load than Johnson or Lloyd.
My guess is still that Kevin Zeitler may start today at right guard. If so, we're hoping to see the running game benefit from yet another veteran lineman, like things improved last week with Tomlinson added to the mix.
Whoever carries the rock today will be seeing a favorable matchup against a Bears rushing defense that's allowed 102.5 yards per game. TJ Edwards is the top linebacker against the run, anchoring the middle of the field with Grady Jarrett stuffing up the middle of the line of scrimmage. The key may be the edge for Packers' running backs today as the Bears' edge defenders have struggled to set the edge against the run. While they may be on thin ice, Kaleb Johnson and Marshawn Lloyd may benefit using their speed, especially Johnson's work in space so far this season, in establishing a running game today against a Bears' defense that's sort of struggled in that category.
What to see on Defense
Starting for the Bears today at quarterback will be Tyson Bagent. Or at least that's what Ben Johnson said earlier this week. Caleb Williams practiced on Friday and is marked questionable for today's game, so who knows. Some may call it "the spirit of rivalry" to create some deception, but this is the NFL in 2026; why even name a starting QB for the week if you're going to try to throw a little smokescreen? But it is what it is, and as many talking heads have said, it's likely going to be Bagent anyways. But don't let that fool you into comfort. Despite missing Caleb Williams for two games, the Bears' offense has barely faltered. Part of that could be due in part to the plethora of weapons at Bagent's disposal. At WR, they have Rome Odunze, Luther Burden III, and Kalif Raymond, while at TE they have the duo of Cole Kmet and Colston Loveland. Losing Edgerrin Cooper last week hurt the Packers for sure, but it could hurt even more today with those TEs lined up in favorable matchups against Zaire Franklin and Isaiah McDuffie. Brandon Cisse has been a full practice participant this week after being listed with a neck injury; hopefully he will be a full-go today, as the Bears feasted on Carrington Valentine and Keisean Nixon last season, and we don't need a repeat.
The one key for the Packers today is to make Bagent uncomfortable. Which could be a bit difficult as the Bears' offensive line ranks high in the league for pass blocking. They've only allowed seven sacks so far and only one in the last two weeks. Jonathan Gannon was in his bag late in the game vs. Tampa Bay, sending blitzes to disrupt Jalon Daniels, and he may need to do a lot of the same today. The Packers pass rush has been either hot or cold from the edge rushers in four games so far. Micah Parsons may be ramping up his workouts and practicing soon, but that doesn't help today. We need Lukas Van Ness and the rest of the edge squad to play out of their minds today to help out the secondary.
On to the run. The Bears have had a two-headed running attack between D'Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai, which has combined for 635 yards and six touchdowns already this season; however, due to a toe injury, Chicago will be without Monangai today. This could be a bit of a break for the Packers defense; they've been pretty good against the run this year, except, of course, for facing Bijan Robinson, and having to navigate without Edgerrin Cooper the remainder of the season will be tough. But only facing one of Chicago's backs will help. Swift is still a threat, though, and like I said earlier about making Bagent uncomfortable, if they're going to do that, they're going to have to take away the running attack; otherwise Bagent will have an easy head start keeping the defense on their toes for whether or not he's going to hand the ball off.
Extra Notes
Not enough can be said about Trey Smack so far this season. Last week, the difference in the game ended up being a 58-yard field goal that Smack nailed to end the first half. This was your classic "opposition calls a time out to freeze the kicker, kicker misses the kick that didn't count, learns from his mistake, and nails the real kick" situation that always makes me laugh. Attempting to freeze a kicker with a timeout has been a move for a while now, but it seems to often backfire or have no effect at all as of late. The Bears have Cairo Santos kicking for them, who has gone 7/8 so far this season with a long of 50 yards.
Bears punter Tory Taylor has averaged 50.3 yards per punt so far this season with only eight punts. The Bears have had good punt and kick coverage so far this season, avoiding giving up any big returns. The longest punt return so far surrendered by Tory Taylor is just 24 yards. Skyy Moore started the season looking pretty good in the return game, but he has been relatively quiet the last two weeks. Hoping to see a bit of a spark from him today if possible.
Returning for the Bears would be Zavion Thomas as the primary kickoff return man and Kalif Raymond handling punts. Chicago hasn't been very good at all in kickoff return average, sitting last in the league, but they do sit at 13th in punt returns. The gunners for the Packers will need to be disciplined today to ensure Chicago doesn't receive a gift from their special teams.
In the End
Just a quick note on the passing of Mike Ditka on Friday: Obviously, as Packers fans we're conditioned to dislike the Bears and anyone involved with them. I may have a minor dislike for Coach Ditka given that he's a legendary Bears coach and player, but boy did I ever respect the man. You can't have a Packers/Bears rivalry without guys like Coach Ditka. Condolences to Ditka's family and the Bears organization. Like him or not, he was a legend and an icon. He will be missed.
The Packers debut their Rivalry uniforms today. I ended up being sold on these uniforms quickly, given their use of the Lombardi-era "GB" monogram, which I've admired for pretty much my entire fandom and wished they would use it. This is the first time the Packers have ever donned an alternate uniform that wasn't a throwback. Personally, I don't really count the "white-out" unis because the jersey was essentially the team's traditional away jersey. So, hopefully, they come away with a win to christen it properly.
All in all, it's Packers vs. Bears today. Each team has its own circumstances that have them not playing at full strength due to injury, but when Green Bay and Chicago meet, all of that seems to be cast aside. You know the quote, "Any team can beat any team on any given Sunday." Well, that tends to be true in the NFL. Now let's get out there and make sure we're the ones celebrating victory Monday tomorrow. Go Pack Go.
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Greg Meinholz is a lifelong devoted Packer fan. A contributor to CheeseheadTV as well as PackersTalk. Follow him on Twitter @gmeinholz and Bluesky @gmeinholz.bsky.social for Packers commentary, random humor, beer endorsements, and occasional Star Wars and Marvel ramblings.