It's no secret the Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers have one of the best rivalries in the NFL. The only rivalries that come close are the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys, or the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens.
This rivalry has produced many classics: the 2010 NFC Championship Game, spoiling Brett Favre's retirement ceremony on Thanksgiving in 2015, and beating the Packers on Christmas Day to clinch the division in 2005.
More recently, however, the rivalry has become one-sided. The Packers have won the last 10 games in the rivalry, per StatMuse. Over the past 30 games, the Bears have a 4-26 record versus the Packers. This is arguably the lowest point in the rivalries history.
Caleb Williams coming to Chicago could shake things up. A Heisman Winner at USC, Williams was the undisputed first-overall pick of the 2024 draft and went to the Bears.
They've wasted no time building an offense around their rookie, bringing in Pro Bowl talent like Keenan Allen and D'Andre Swift and drafting Washington's Rome Odunze in the first round. These notable additions will round out an offensive core that already features D.J. Moore, Cole Kmet, and Roschon Johnson, a rookie who showed promise last season.
A new era for the Chicago Bears rivalry with the Green Bay Packers.
To put great expectations on a rookie quarterback is unfair, but the Bears are expecting Williams to play at a high level right away, especially with the pieces he's been given. By great expectations, we mean beating the Packers, a team they haven't beaten since 2018.
Williams' arrival makes this rivalry interesting again. It always seemed the Packers had better quarterback luck than the Bears. While the Packers enjoyed three decades of Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers, the Bears were searching for their franchise quarterback. They may have found him in Williams.
The Packers have a young ace of their own: Jordan Love. The 25-year-old led the Packers to a Wild Card win over the Dallas Cowboys in his first season as the starter.
When these quarterbacks meet for the first time, it will open up a new chapter in one of the oldest rivalries in the NFL. Who will be the better quarterback? Williams or Love? Love has shown promise early on while the jury is still out on Williams.