This week’s Chicago Bears–Green Bay Packers playoff matchup doesn’t need manufactured stakes. For Bears fans, the meaning is baked into the history — and the rarity.

The two franchises have met in the postseason only twice. The most recent was the 2011 NFC Championship Game at Soldier Field, a January afternoon that still lingers painfully in Chicago’s memory. Green Bay raced to an early lead, the Bears’ defense clawed them back into it, but the offense never fully recovered after Jay Cutler exited with a knee injury. A late rally under backup Caleb Hanie briefly reignited the crowd before interceptions by B.J. Raji and Sam Shields closed the door on a 21–14 loss — one that sent the Packers on to a Super Bowl title and left Chicago wondering what might have been.

The only other playoff meeting came nearly 70 years earlier, in December of 1941, when the Bears and Packers clashed at Wrigley Field in their first-ever postseason matchup. Coached by George Halas and Curly Lambeau, the Bears erased an early deficit with 30 unanswered points to win 33–14, then rolled to an NFL championship the following week.

Two games. One win. One loss. That’s it — a remarkably small sample for the league’s oldest rivalry.

That’s what makes Saturday different. This isn’t just another chapter in Bears–Packers history; it’s a rare chance for Chicago fans to experience the rivalry with everything on the line, at home, in January. Soldier Field isn’t hosting a spoiler game or a symbolic late-season matchup — it’s hosting a true postseason collision where one team advances and the other carries the weight of it into the offseason.

But this moment isn’t only about history. It’s about now — and about Caleb Williams.

Full Story:

More Chicago Bears from Bleacher Nation

• HELLO! Rome Odunze is OFF the Chicago Bears Injury Report

• Green Bay Packers Injury Report: A Mostly Clean Bill of Health

• It’s A Major Award: Colston Loveland is the NFL’s Rookie of the Week

• Former Backup QB Most Famous For Running Out of the Back of the End Zone Gives Bears No Chance on Saturday

• Around the NFL: John Harbaugh Hold, Todd Bowles Returns, Mike McDaniel’s Cleveland Connection, More

• Another Coach Gets Dumped: Dolphins Fire Mike McDaniel

• Byard’s Words of Wisdom, Packers Revenge Factor, Ben Johnson and Mike McDaniel, and Other Bears Bullets

Ankin Law: Injury Law Made Personal

Bleacher Nation is proud to partner with Ankin Law, where injury law is made personal. Since 1997, Ankin Law’s dedicated team of 80 attorneys and staff has advocated for justice in personal injury, workers’ compensation, medical malpractice, and Social Security Disability cases. With compassion at our core, we’re more than legal representation – we’re your allies in recovery.

More Chicago Sports from Bleacher Nation

Chicago Cubs

• New: Cubs Connected to Three of the Four Big Free Agent Hitters

• Do the Cubs Have the Most Underrated Prospect in Baseball? (Not Who You’re Thinking – Nope, Not the Other Guy, Either!)

• Cubs Avoiding Arbitration Today: Justin Steele

• The Other Side of the Trade: Who Heads Out and the Organizational Impact

• Chicago Cubs Sign Righty Jeff Brigham

• More Edward Cabrera Notes: The Stuff, The Money, The Risks, The Depth, and More

• The Other Pitcher the Cubs Added, Wicks’ New Pitch, Old Friend Signs, and Other Cubs Bullets

Chicago Blackhawks

• Blackhawks Trade Brossoit, Allan to San Jose for Future Cap Help

• Blackhawks Trade Buzz: New Trade Boards Include Chicago Veterans

• Blackhawks College Prospects: Busy Weekend Back on Campus

• Blackhawks Icon Glenn Hall, “Mr. Goalie,” Has Passed Away

• Goals Galore, Great Vibes, Bedard Back Soon? Hiding Hofer, Utah Classic, and Other Blackhawks Bullets

Chicago Bulls

• On the Bulls Eye: 3 Defensive Prospects the Chicago Bulls Should Be Watching This Week

• Report: Hawks Flip Trae Young to Wizards in Blockbuster Trade

• Ayo Dosunmu on Bears-Packers, Kendall Gill Goes Full Karnisovas, and Other Bulls Bullets