It was clear last year that after three meetings between the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers, the rivalry had gotten more bitter between both sides.
In one of the games last year, Bears wide receiver Luther Burden III got into it with Packers cornerback Keisean Nixon as Burden was found choking him during the incident. Months after that happened, Burden explains his side of the story, that it wasn't on purpose.
“Little do they know it was on accident. It wasn’t even for bro," Burden said. "I wasn’t even talking to bro. Now it’s history. History on accident.”
Luther Burden clears the air about choking incident from 2025
From both sides, the rivalry has heated up, but the Bears have no doubt been more feisty about it. They were motivated to win those final two matchups against the Packers, both double-digit comeback wins, with one securing the NFC North and the other the NFC Wild Card game.
Burden played key roles in those games, as even when the ball was not in his hands, he was making blocks and doing what it took to win those contests. He ended up playing a key role late in the season, with Rome Odunze being injured, as Bears fans really got to see the big play potential Burden brings to the table.
The 2026 season will only intensify this rivalry between the Bears and Packers, after Chicago took two out of three last year and three out of four over the last two years. There is no love lost between the two sides, which is going to make these two matchups next year even better to watch.
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People can say whatever they want to about that incident with Burden, but he said what he needed to say, and fans can move on. Packers fans may not let it go, though, and that's okay with Bears fans, as it's only going to add to the rivalry.
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