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MINNEAPOLIS – The Green Bay Packers got a rematch they wanted.
They will play the Chicago Bears in the wild-card round of the playoffs after a wild finish to the regular season in which the Bears lost to the Detroit Lions but secured the No. 2 seed because Washington rallied to beat Philadelphia.
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The date and time of the game will be announced Sunday evening, Jan. 4.
Having been locked in as the No. 7 seed after their loss to Baltimore last week, the Packers knew they would be playing on the road against either the Chicago Bears or Philadelphia Eagles, whichever team finished as the No. 2 seed.
They just needed to wait until the teams settled it with their late afternoon games against division rivals.
“Shoot, it don’t matter, we want both of them,” safety Javon Bullard said after the Packers’ 16-3 loss to the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium.
The Bears would have clinched the No. 2 seed with a victory over the Lions and it looked like they might pull if off after a late rally tied the game. But the Lions drove 39 yards in the final minute to set up Jake Bates’ game-winning 42-yard field goal with no time left.
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If the Eagles had beaten the Commanders, the Eagles would have been the No. 2 seed. But Washington scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns and held off a final Eagles drive to hang on for a 24-17 victory.
The Packers split their two games against the Bears, winning 28-21 on Dec. 7 at Lambeau Field and losing 22-16 in overtime Dec. 20 at Soldier Field. The loss was excruciating because the Packers led 16-6 with 5 minutes to go and would have been in first place in the NFC North had they held on.
When pushed about whether he would like another shot against the rival Bears, especially given how the Packers lost at Soldier Field, Bullard said, “Hell yeah, we want Chicago. We want everybody that wants us.”
The Packers lost 10-7 at home to the Eagles on Nov. 10. It was their third loss to the Eagles in 14 months, including a 22-10 wild-card playoff loss at Lincoln Financial Field. The Packers had two possessions in the final 2 minutes with a shot to tie or win the game.
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“We’ve played against those teams earlier in the year,” receiver Christian Watson said. “And we had chances to beat both of those teams. So, I mean, we know what we got and what we're up against so, I think that we have a good chance either way.”
Despite the loss that dropped them to 9-7-1, the Packers have new life, albeit at a place where they just lost.
“I think every year is a different year and different experience, and you’ve got to learn from your past, no doubt about it,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said. “And I think it's just the urgency that needs to be there from the moment we start preparing, which is really right now, in terms of those guys that battle today, getting their bodies back
“We’ve got to have a great week of preparation. We’ve got to maximize it, make the most of it. Go shoot our shot.”
This article originally appeared on Packers News: The Packers will play the Bears in NFC wild-card playoff game
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