Coming off back-to-back playoff appearances in Jordan Love‘s first two years as the starter, the Green Bay Packers’ goal was to get a bigger bite of the apple this year. The Micah Parsons trade before the start of the season took it to an entirely different level.
Fast forward to the present, and the Packers are limping into the playoffs after being battered with 15 season-ending injuries. A date with the Chicago Bears on Saturday night awaits, and it brings up an intriguing question: Would a win over the Bears, only to be bounced the following round, satisfy most of the fanbase?
Let’s preface by noting that the Super Bowl is the obvious goal once any team reaches the playoffs. It’s increasingly unlikely for the Packers, given that they would have to run through the gauntlet of the NFC, all on the road, and do so with one of the more insane injury lists in recent history.
If Green Bay gets by the No. 2 seed in Chicago, they automatically face the No. 1-seeded Seattle Seahawks the following week. It’s not impossible, but it is unlikely that the Packers rip off four straight and hoist the Lombardi Trophy in February.
Given Saturday’s opponent and the way things have gone the last month, a win over the Bears would do wonders for Green Bay’s mental makeup. A loss would be equally devastating.
Taking the pulse of the Packers fanbase on social media, there appears to have been a come-to-Jesus moment. Almost everyone understands that it would take something monumental for Green Bay to win it all. One playoff win — especially over Chicago — might qualify as successful enough, given the circumstances.
Of course, whenever the season ends, if the Packers don’t win it all, it will sting just like the rest of the postseason exits. Still, given how this picture has come into focus, the expectations may have dipped a bit, which could cushion the blow. A win over just the Bears alone would do wonders.
The gamesmanship between the rival fanbases has already begun. Packers and Bears fans take their rivalry to a whole other level within the confines of the internet — and outside of it.
Silencing the Bears on their home field would at least provide an exclamation point of sorts for Green Bay’s season. Anything after that would feel like playing with house money. If any Packers or Bears fans are trying to act as though this Saturday’s game will feel like any other playoff win or loss, those people are trying to convince themselves more than they’re trying to convince you. There’s more riding on this game than just getting one step closer to a Lombardi trophy.
First-year head coach Ben Johnson has done an incredible job of stoking the fire for the rivalry. It began at his introductory press conference when he said it’s fun beating Matt LaFleur twice a year. Then, after Sunday’s loss to the Detroit Lions, Johnson said the Bears played their starters because they play football, which seemed like another shot at LaFleur. On top of that, Johnson has brought competence to the franchise, something the Bears have been lacking for years. That has re-energized a rivalry that had been one-sided for decades.
That’s why many Packers fans would look back at the 2025 season, after all the disappointment and terrible injury luck, and say, At least Green Bay beat Chicago and ended its season.
Whether that’s the right frame of mind to have or not is up for debate. Former Packers offensive lineman-turned-radio host Mark Tauscher brought this idea up on Monday’s Wilde and Tausch show and took the opposite stance.
Are we all resigned that yes, we should beat the Bears but then lose to Seattle and be done? Are we all gonna be content as Packers fans if we go down to Chicago, beat their brakes in Saturday night then lose a good game out in Seattle the following Saturday? Are we all gonna be content with that? Because it feels like a lot of Packers fans are. I’m not in that camp.
Tauscher is right that many Packers fans would be content with a win on Saturday. Again, it stems from having to face the Bears instead of a random NFC team in the playoffs, coupled with the understanding that the Packers would need a miracle to win it all this year. That’s why a win over Chicago would suffice for so many.