How the Bears Can Take Another 2-1 Lead Over the Packers in 2026

The Chicago Bears may have been the Green Bay Packers' punching bag for much of the last 15 fifteen years, but in 2025 they took a series lead over their archrival in playoff meetings. With their miraculous Wild Card win, the Bears moved to 2-1 over the Packers in postseason meetings. Now, they have a chance to be 2-1 over the Packers in Christmas meetings.

The Bears and Packers rarely meet in holiday games

The full 2026 NFL schedule will be released later tonight, but we already know about several confirmed Bears games in 2026. One of the most intriguing matchups is the Bears' Week 16 game against the Packers on Christmas Day. These two bitter rivals have met only twice before on Christmas, each time at Lambeau Field, with each team winning one game.

Their first meeting came in 2005, and the Bears walked away with a 24-17 win. The Bears picked off Brett Favre four times in that game, with Lance Briggs returning one for a touchdown. Rex Grossman didn't play much better than Favre, completing less than half of his passes for a 68.4 passer rating, but with a dominant defense and a strong run game, he wasn't asked to do much.

They next played on Christmas of 2011, with the Packers winning 35-21. Aaron Rodgers, in his typical fashion, picked the Bears apart. He completed 21 of 29 passes for 283 yards, five touchdowns, and a nearly perfect 142.7 passer rating. The Bears started Josh McCown in that contest, which should tell you all you need to know about the Bears' passing attack from that game.

Caleb Williams has a massive opportunity to cement his legacy in Chicago

He's only been in Chicago for two years, but Caleb Williams has already delivered more iconic moments against the Green Bay Packers than all of his predecessors of the last 15 years combined. He snapped Green Bay's 11-game win streak over Chicago in Week 18 of the 2024 season with a gutsy, game-winning drive. In 2025, he stunned the Packers in overtime with a walk-off touchdown to D.J. Moore and followed that up in the Wild Card round of the playoffs by erasing an 18-point deficit with another touchdown pass to Moore.

The 2026 season offers him yet another opportunity for a legendary moment against his biggest rival. Last year, his Wild Card win pushed the Bears to 2-1 in the all-time playoff series against the Packers. Now, with the Bears facing the Packers for just the third time ever on Christmas day, he can move the Bears to 2-1 in the all-time Christmas series.

Is it as important as postseason wins? Of course not. But with how lopsided this historic rivalry has been in recent years, the Bears could use every advantage they can get over their rival. Plus, this is the first Christmas game between these two teams that will take place at Soldier Field. How sweet a Christmas present it would be for the thousands of Bears' faithful in attendance to see a win over Green Bay in what could be a clinching scenario for the NFC North division title.

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