Packers-Bears preview: NFC Wild Card game features storied rivalry

1st & North: It's NFL playoffs time

It's playoff time. The NFC North insiders talk about the Wild Card matchup between the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears.

CHICAGO - The Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears collide in the NFC Wild Card playoffs on Saturday. It's just the third postseason meeting of their historic rivalry, and you can watch it all unfold on FOX6.

How to watch:

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 10 – on both FOX6 and Amazon Prime. Gear up for the game with a special edition of FOX6 News streaming on FOX LOCAL at 5:30 p.m. Packers coverage continues on FOX6 after the game, too.

Big picture view:

Chicago won the NFC North for the first time since 2018, earning their first playoff berth since 2020. Green Bay made the postseason as a Wild Card team for the third straight year.

The Packers (9-8-1) finished the regular season with four straight losses, and starting quarterback Jordan Love sat out the last two. The team's last win, against Chicago no less, came at Lambeau Field in Week 14. The Bears (11-6) lost their last two games to close the season and, ironically, got their last win against Green Bay at Soldier Field in Week 16.

Saturday's playoff game marks just the third time in Packers history that the team will play the same opponent three times over a six-game span in a single season, including the playoffs.

The backstory:

The Packers are 108-96-6 against the Bears in the regular season – their most wins over any single opponent in a rivalry that dates back to 1921. The two teams have met 212 times, including the playoffs, which is the most in NFL history.

Green Bay and Chicago are 1-1 against each other in the playoffs. The Packers' victory came in the 2010 NFC Championship game en route to their Super Bowl XLV victory.

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The Packers' 109 wins over Chicago all-time, including the playoffs, are the most victories by any NFL team against another (108, New York Giants over Washington).

Green Bay is 55-54-2 in Chicago all time, including playoff games. The Packers have won 26 of the last 32 games at Soldier Field, including the 2010 NFC Championship, as well as 14 of the last 16.

Head coach Matt LaFleur is 12-2 against Chicago. Ben Johnson, in his first year leading the Bears, is 1-1 against the Packers.

Saturday's playoff game will be the 212th Packers-Bears matchup. They are the only two teams in NFL history to play one another at least 200 times.

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Local perspective:

Al Harris, who was inducted into the Packers Hall of Fame in 2021, is now Chicago's pass game coordinator and defensive backs coach. Bears defensive back Jonathan Owens played for Green Bay in 2023.

Jonathan Ford, who Green Bay originally selected in the seventh round of the 2022 NFL Draft, is back with the Packers after playing 12 games for Chicago over the past two seasons.

Bears linebacker T.J. Edwards, now in his third season with the team, played for the Wisconsin Badgers from 2014-2018.

The Source: Information in this post was provided by the Green Bay Packers and FOX Sports.

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