Trash-talking stars and fourth-quarter comebacks have reignited the NFL’s oldest rivalry between the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers.
The 2025 NFL season created a shift in the league's longest-standing rivalry between the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers.
With Ben Johnson's team defeating Matt LaFleur's Packers in two of the three matchups last season, the Bears proved they will not stand for being Green Bay's punching bag.
And now the rivalry is in the best position it's been in decades.
Packers edge rusher Micah Parsons put Bears and Packers fanbases in a frenzy when a social media clip of him went viral for saying, "Yeah, Iceman" in reference to the question, "Who do you think will be number one on the list this year?" for the NFL Top 100 Players of 2026.
Caleb Williams as asked about that and some additional comments Parsons made during his interview for the NFL's Top 100 Players of 2026. Parsons said, "I got something for Iceman for sure. Where's there's ice, there's also fire. And I'm the fire."
“Just funny," Williams said. "He's obviously – good jokes, obviously, we're football players and on opposite teams, so it's a little rivalry. So, nothing taken to heart and things like that. He said, he's fire and I'm ice. So, see which one holds over. It’s cool nothing else about that.”
The NFL Top 100 List is voted by the players. Williams made it clear how he would approach potentially voting for a member of the Packers' organization as No. 1.
“Probably not, but (laughter), that's on my side of how I do things," Williams said. "Obviously he's a phenomenal player. You worry about him every single snap. So, kudos to him and speedy recovery.”
Let's be honest. That's the answer Bears fans wanted to hear. Of course the starting quarterback of the Chicago Bears wouldn't vote for a Packer even if that individual was deserving of the accolade.
Because it's the Bears and Packers, that's exactly how the two teams, players and fanbases should act towards each other.
After the Bears knocked out the Packers in the playoffs, Johnson delivered his drive-by handshake to LaFleur. Then there was the "F--- the Packers" chant in the locker room. The following day, Johnson didn't apologize for his action. Instead, the Bears' head coach stated, "I don't like that team."
Williams is taking on the identity of his head coach, which just increases the anticipation for the matchups between the two teams next season.
Packers cornerback Keisean Nixon was asked during last week's media availability if he hates the Bears.
“They hate us more than we hate them,” Nixon told reporters. “We’ve been worried about other teams. … Our process is not the Chicago Bears. That's not our Super Bowl. Our process is to win the NFC North first. We gotta beat them anyway.”
Nixon definitely changed up his tone from last season, when he and his teammates were hoping to play the Bears in the wild-card round, but NFL fans benefit the most for this genuine dislike each team has for each other.
Before 2025, the Bears hadn't defeated the Packers since the 2018 season. That was also the last time Chicago won the NFC North before Johnson took over as the team's coach.
Last season's victories over the Packers go beyond just the Bears winning those matchups. It's how the Bears secured those two games in Chicago. Both times the Bears were down by two scores or more entering the fourth quarter. The numbers 21-3, the Packers' score at halftime over the Bears in the playoffs, will forever have a place in the minds of Green Bay fans.
The Packers couldn't finish those games, and that empty feeling has to stay with Green Bay and its fanbase until the two teams play in 2026.
That's a long time to wait for revenge, but that raw emotion helps make a rivalry special.
The Bears and Packers finally have that back after all these years.
