Final Word: Seeing the benefits of the Bears-Packers rivalry when the football games are good

After a week of tension and discourse, the first thing that sparked discussion at Lambeau Field on Sunday night was the handshake. 

Packers coach Matt LaFleur and Bears coach Ben Johnson had a post-game handshake that lasted 0.3 seconds. Maybe less. This came after a week when Johnson’s "beating Matt LaFleur twice a year" comments were played on repeat.

Was there more to it than that?

"Just a quick handshake," LaFleur said. "We'll see them again in two weeks."

"That feels like every handshake I have at the end of a game," Johnson said Monday.

The fact that a handshake is becoming the focal point of a Bears vs. Packers game where the top of the NFC and the NFC North was at stake might seem comical. I see this as a good thing.

The Bears-Packers rivalry is good again. We’re sweating the small stuff and the press conferences become cannon fodder. Most importantly, the games are good.

Big picture view:

The Bears looked like they were on the verge of getting blown away.

Two explosive play touchdowns were a gut punch. Down 14-3 at halftime, they still picked themselves off the mat and forced a three-and-out. They drove for a touchdown.

Then, Christian Watson took a slant 41 yards to the house. It’s 21-11. The Bears scored 10 unanswered points to tie the game at 21-21. The running game began to work, which cued up the play-action pass. The Bears went from 71 yards of total offense at halftime to over 315 on the evening.

The Packers pulled ahead after Josh Jacobs plowed into the end zone after a 22-yard run where he shook off three Bears players.

Caleb Williams mounted a drive near the end of the game. His pass over the top to Cole Kmet was intercepted. Williams went for the touchdown instead of the first down. He had Kmet, too.

Kmet was wide open at the start of the play, but Williams didn’t see him right away and his throw was short. Keisean Nixon intercepted it. Williams had to come back across his body to get enough power on the throw to get it into the end zone. 

All of this fit into a 60-minute game. When was the last time a Bears-Packers game was this exciting?

"It’s a playoff atmosphere, going versus a rival," Williams said. "It’s good for us to be able to find ways to rally and obviously we want to focus on having a better outcome and starting faster and all these different things. But it’s definitely useful for us, just in case we go on the road at some point and in the playoffs and things like that."

There aren’t moral victories in football. But, there is the realization that you were that close. A quiet Bears locker room felt that on Sunday. No one had come into Lambeau Field in 2025 and scored 20 or more points in a game and gained 300 or more yards in a single game. Until the Bears, that is. 

"They made a couple more plays than we did," Bears linebacker TJ Edwards said. "It's good teams like that where it's kind of going to come down to those couple plays."

This was just game one. Game two is in 12 days.

What's next:

What we knew beforehand was that Johnson understood the assignment.

The steps to success in Chicago involve beating Green Bay. It’s not an optional requirement, just like in any other major rivalry.

"This is my seventh year in the division and I do think there is some aura that comes with playing here and competing here," Johnson said. "I love it for our guys. This is what the football gods made football to be. Cold weather in December like this and Green Bay, Chicago, I think it is outstanding. I think it’s awesome to have this rivalry alive and well right now and we get another chance at it here in two weeks."

But, it’s meaningful again.

It doesn’t feel like the Packers have an acute stranglehold on the Bears. If that were the case, the Bears never would have gotten their running game going in the second half. They never would have had a chance to tie the game in the final minute.

The drama and comments made before the game might have stirred the pot, but that’s always going to be there. The Bears mixed in a few interesting shots after the game, too. Safety Jaquan Brisker said it was quieter than he’s been accustomed to at Lambeau Field on Sunday. Cornerback Jaylon Johnson agreed. 

It’s a simple observation that will undoubtedly be taken out of context on various forms of social media.

But, that’s what happens when the games are actually entertaining. The Packers were able to shut the Bears up for the day.

"We've all known the comments that were out there so it is what it is," Packers quarterback Jordan Love said. "This is a game that means a lot to everybody. It's an NFC North matchup. Obviously, Bears were No. 1 seed. So, it's a huge game. We'll see these guys here in a couple weeks again."

LaFleur was adamant his team didn’t take it personally. It’s just part of the game.

"No, absolutely not," LaFleur said. "It's Packers-Bears. It's a great rivalry. Certainly, with what was at stake in regards to positioning in the NFC North, that's the only thing that matters."

The Packers won Round 1. They got the better of the Bears.

Round 2 is approaching quickly. The Bears can’t overlook the incoming Browns, but it’s fair for the fans to have the Packers on their minds.

That’s what happens in a meaningful rivalry.

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