It seems impossible to fathom in the year 2025, but at one point, the Chicago Bears held a commanding 24-game lead over the Green Bay Packers in what is one of the most historic rivalries in all of sports. The year was 1992, and the Packers were about to complete a trade for Atlanta Falcons quarterback Brett Favre. Since then, the rivalry has become a one-sided beatdown in favor of Green Bay, who now own a 12-game lead.
The lopsided winning got so bad that some fans declared the rivalry dead, but it looks like they were wrong. Apparently, all it took to get the rivalry back on track was a single Bears win at Lambeau Field and a little bit of trash talk from Bears quarterback Caleb Williams. At Fanatics Fest last month, Williams was asked about his most negative experience with NFL fans, and he called out Packers fans, saying that 'they suck' and proudly declaring that he is '1-0 at Lambeau'.
At least one Packers player heard that shot across the bow, and he was none too pleased about it. Appearing on Good Morning Football on Tuesday, Green Bay offensive tackle Rasheed Walker was asked for his thoughts about Williams' remarks, and his response was simple: "They got lucky. We're gonna remember he said that."
Strong words indeed from Rasheed Walker, but a couple of things need to be addressed. First of all, it's quite the stretch to call Chicago's win 'lucky'. They had to go into that game missing several starters due to injury, including three of five starters on the O-line, and were on their third offensive coordinator of the season. It was also a 'meaningless' game for the Bears, who were eliminated from playoff contention, while Green Bay was fighting for better playoff seeding.
Far from a lucky win, the Bears gutted out a tough win that required Herculean efforts from Caleb Williams on the game-winning drive, doing it all while severely short-handed and massively out-coached.
Second, if we're going to talk about lucky wins, perhaps we can remind everyone that the Packers were a fingertip away from being swept by the Chicago Bears and getting shut out completely by the NFC North in 2025. A blocked field goal for the win is about as lucky as it gets.
Regardless of who got lucky and which fan base sucks, this is all good for the rivalry and good for football. The NFL is better when the Bears and Packers are at each other's throats, and trading dramatic wins is far more conducive to that than six years of futility. With this much trash talk already occurring in the offseason, there's sure to be plenty of fireworks when these two teams meet in Week 14 back at Lambeau.
