7 things to know about Bears before Packers playoff game

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The Green Bay Packers know the Chicago Bears well; after all, they've played each other twice in December, and their rivalry dates generations. For the third time in history, the two franchises will meet in the playoffs Jan. 10, a wild-card battle at Soldier Field.

Here's what to know about the Bears:

It's all about the running game in Chicago, and a dramatically revamped offensive line

Chicago Bears running back D'Andre Swift (4) finds a hole during the fourth quarter of their game Saturday, December 20, 2025 at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois. The Chicago Bears beat the Green Bay Packers 22-16 in overtime.

Though Caleb Williams is the featured attraction in terms of notoriety, the Bears' success on offense has been all about establishing the run game this season. D'Andre Swift finished the year with 1,087 yards and nine touchdowns, averaging 4.9 yards per attempt. Kyle Monangai, a seventh-round rookie out of Rutgers, has also been a revelation, with 783 yards and five touchdowns on 4.6 per attempt.

The Bears dramatically improved their offensive line in the offseason. With right tackle Darnell Wright as the only holdover, the Bears signed veteran standouts Joe Thuney (guard) and Drew Dalman (center) in free agency and acquired guard Jonah Jackson from the Rams in a trade for a sixth-round pick. Then, second-round pick Ozzy Trapilo has filled in nicely at left tackle, although he missed the regular-season finale with a knee and quad injury.

Pro Football Focus regarded Chicago as having the second-best offensive line in football behind Denver heading into Week 18. The same site ranked the Bears OL 24th last year.

The Bears seem to have absolutely crushed the 2025 draft, and that's becoming a trend

Trapilo is not the only success story for the Bears out of the 2025 draft held in Green Bay.

First-round pick Colston Loveland leads the team with 58 receptions and 713 receiving yards as a rookie. It was a surprise when Chicago took Loveland with the 10th overall pick over another tight end, Tyler Warren, and Warren has indeed been sensational for the Colts in his rookie year, but Loveland has excelled, too.

In the second round (39th pick), the Bears took Luther Burden, who's third on the team with 47 catches and a genuine emerging wide-receiver talent. Then came Trapilo with the 56th pick and Monangai with the 233rd. Throw in the success of quarterback Caleb Williams and receiver Rome Odunze from last year's first round, not to mention Wright in the first round of 2023, and Chicago's drafting has been effective under fourth-year general manager Ryan Poles.

Is Caleb Williams truly an improving quarterback?

Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) is pressured by Green Bay Packers defensive end Kingsley Enagbare (55) during the first quarter of their game Saturday, December 20, 2025 at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois.

In terms of completion percentage, Williams is one of the worst regular starters in the league at 58.1%, a mark that ranks him below guys like Justin Fields, Dillon Gabriel and Tyrod Taylor. He doesn't have as good of a quarterback rating as Jacoby Brissett, Jaxson Dart or Tyler Shough. There are still plenty of question marks.

But, he has dramatically reduced his sacks, dropping from 68 to 24 this year. That's obviously a function of a much improved Chicago offensive line, but it also speaks to Williams' ability to avoid the pass rush and deliver the football. He also takes care of the ball, with only seven interceptions to 27 touchdowns, largely because he's willing to throw the ball away as much as any quarterback in the league (a reality that naturally impacts his completion percentage). And, he's a decent threat to run the ball, with 388 yards and three touchdowns this season, though that yardage ranks only seventh in the NFL among quarterbacks.

The Bears haven't won a playoff game since BJ Raji happened

Green Bay Packers defensive tackle B.J. Raji (90) and Green Bay Packers cornerback Charles Woodson (21) celebrate B.J. Raji's touchdown during the NFC Championship game between the Green Bay Packers and the Chicago Bears, Sunday, January 23, 2011 at Soldier Field in Chicago.

This game represents an opportunity for the Bears to exorcise some demons.

Packers fans won't forget B.J. Raji's pick-six to help seal a 21-14 win in the NFC championship game after the 2010 season, and obviously, the Bears haven't forgotten either. Because they haven’t won a playoff game since.

In fact, Chicago has only twice made the playoffs since the 2010 season before now, losing in the wild-card round in 2018 and 2020. In 2013, they were kept from the playoffs in a last-second loss to the Packers on the final day of the season, and in 2018, they lost on a late touchdown catch by Golden Tate with 56 seconds left, a 16-15 loss to visiting Philadelphia.

The Packers, of course, went on to win the Super Bowl after the last playoff win over the Bears and have made 10 more playoff appearances in the intervening years before this season, with eight playoff victories.

The Bears defense is suspect, except in the one area where it dominates

The Bears are far and away the league leader in turnover differential with 22, five more than second-best Houston (17) and nine more than third-best Jacksonville (13). Chicago has 23 interceptions to lead the league (one more than Jacksonville) and 10 fumble recoveries, a total of 33 takeaways that narrowly leads Jacksonville's 31 and Houston's 29. But when you factor in that the Bears don't give the ball away (a league-low 11 times), they are simply the best in the business in the turnover department.

Leading the way is Kevin Byard with seven interceptions and 91 return yards. Nahshon Wright has another five picks with 118 return yards, including a touchdown. Throw in four for Tremaine Edmunds and a pair for C.J. Gardner-Johnson, who left the Bears' Week 18 game against Detroit with an injury.

The corners are, however, vulnerable, as was the case in the finale against Detroit. Star Jaylon Johnson missed a good chunk of the season with injury and may still be battling through it. Kyler Gordon has missed the vast majority of the season but might be available in the playoffs.

Nobody will mistake the Bears for a powerhouse defense overall. They allow 361.8 yards per game, which is fourth-worst in the NFL, and the 24.4 points per game that they allow is the worst of any playoff team, with Pittsburgh (22.8) next-worst on the list. However, Chicago also held opponents to fewer than 20 points in four of their last six games, and nobody is better and creating turnovers.

They had a charmed run through the middle of the season

No, we're not saying the Bears are "lucky," because then Bears fans would be mad at us. We prefer ... "fortunate?" OK, maybe just lucky.

For a while there, the Bears were truly on a charmed run. They coughed up a 41-27 lead in the fourth quarter against the Cincinnati Bengals, falling behind with 54 seconds to play, 42-41, before rallying for a wild 58-yard touchdown pass to Loveland in the final 20 seconds. The next week, the Bears scrambled for two touchdowns in the final four minutes to beat the New York Giants, 24-20. The week after that, it was a last-second field goal from Cairo Santos for a 19-17 win over the Minnesota Vikings. Then, it was a 31-28 win over Pittsburgh in a week when Steelers starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers was out with an injury.

Throw in a late score to tip Las Vegas earlier this year and a last-second field goal to edge Washington by identical 25-24 scores, plus the win over the Packers on Dec. 20 when they recovered a botched onside kick, and you get the idea. The Bears have had some crazy-close calls, and many of those teams (Raiders, Giants, Commanders, Bengals) are picking in the top 10 of the 2026 draft.

The Bears also have an impressive win over Philadelphia that marked a fifth straight victory. But it's easy to look at the pool of teams the Bears have beaten, and the way they've won those games, and wonder just how real it is.

Ben Johnson is making a difference and taking some shots at the Packers

Whether you look at Chicago's fluky schedule as reason to doubt, first-year coach Ben Johnson has certainly instilled some excitement in Bears football circles, and he's not afraid to bring up the Packers. The former Lions offensive coordinator famously noted in his introductory press conference that he "kinda enjoyed beating Matt LaFleur twice a year." That didn't happen this year, we should note.

Johnson also said after the regular-season finale, "Some teams, they rest their starters. We don't. We play football." That naturally could be a shot at the Packers, who played reserves in the finale against Minnesota, though they had nothing to play for while the Bears still needed a win or an Eagles loss to secure the No. 2 seed and a guaranteed home game if they advance to the divisional round.

Bonus: Who leads the all-time rivalry between the Packers and Bears?

The Packers have a 109-97-6 mark all-time against Chicago, including two postseason games that the teams have split (the Bears won after the 1941 season; the Packers won after the 2010 season).

Since the playoff win for Green Bay, the Packers are a staggering 25-5 against Chicago, though the Bears have won one of the two games each of the past two seasons. Before a win over Green Bay in last year's season finale, the Packers won 11 straight meetings and 16 of 17.

This stands in stark contrast to the Bears' control of the rivalry in the 1980s. Beginning at the end of the 1983 season, Chicago won 10 of 11 and went 15-3 right into the start of the Brett Favre era. Since the second game of 1992, the Packers are 52-16 against Chicago.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: 7 things Packers fans should know about Bears this season

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