Rastall Ramblings: Packers Best Bears in Rejuvenation of NFL’s Oldest Rivalry

A Packers-Bears game is always going to mean something. 

It’s the NFL’s oldest rivalry and one of the most iconic rivalries in all of sports. But there’s no denying that, in most recent years, the rivalry had been skating by based on reputation more than meaningful football due to the Bears being seemingly stuck in purgatory as a franchise.

That finally changed this Sunday, with the upstart Bears under first-year head coach Ben Johnson entering Lambeau Field in possession of not just the lead in the NFC North but the No. 1 seed in the NFC as a whole.

The winner of this latest renewal of the rivalry was going to hold first place in the division — the type of stakes a Packers-Bears game hasn’t had late in the season since their famous 2013 meeting at Soldier Field where Aaron Rodgers connected with Randall Cobb for a game-winning touchdown on fourth down to claim the North.

Coming off a statement win over the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles, the Bears were seeking to silence their doubters even further with a marquee road victory. The Packers, on the other hand, were hoping to leapfrog ahead to the top of the division standings as they seek their first NFC North title of the Jordan Love era.

The Packers were the better of the two for much of the day, with a 14-3 halftime lead and a stifling defensive performance in the first half. Unlike many meetings of the past, Chicago did not go away quietly. The Bears rallied to tie the game at 21-21 and were driving again after the Packers retook a 28-21 lead. A Keisean Nixon interception in the end zone on a fourth-and-one throw from Caleb Williams finally iced it for Green Bay to prevent another tight Bears win this season, but the game lived up to all the hype and chatter that occurred throughout the week.

Williams still struggled to consistently make plays in the pocket, yet he was at his elusive best to evade the Packers pass rush and made several superb throws on the move. Love overcame an early interception to look Toyotathon sharp the rest of the way as he continues to play himself into, at the very least, the margins of the MVP conversation.

Christian Watson continued to cement his status as Green Bay’s No. 1 receiver with another two-touchdown performance, an encouraging sight after all the injury woes that have sidetracked the early portion of his career.

The Packers are now exactly where they want to be as they try to make a late-season push for a division title and, if they keep their hot streak going, maybe even the top seed in the NFC. But if nothing else, it was fun to see a Packers-Bears game mean something more than just rivalry pride again. Hopefully the rematch in two weeks at Soldier Field is every bit as fun as the first act.