A resurgent Chicago Bears squad pushed the Green Bay Packers to the brink in Week 14. This renewed rivalry forces the Packers to elevate their game for NFC North supremacy.
The Chicago Bears are a legitimate team. It may hurt to admit if you're a fan of the Green Bay Packers, but Week 14 win for the Pack was hard-earned, and it could have gone either way there at the end.
The Packers made the plays that they needed to in order to win the game -- namely, a Josh Jacobs touchdown with 3:32 to go in the fourth and the Keisean Nixon interception that sealed it -- but the Bears gave them fits, especially in the fourth quarter.
These bitter rivals play again in two weeks and there's no guarantee that the Packers will walk out of Soldier Field with a win in that one. In fact, it may be even harder for Green Bay to go on the road to pull off a victory.
That's a credit to Chicago head coach Ben Johnson and the work he's been able to do in his first year on the job. It's also a credit to Bears general manager Ryan Poles, who has hit on several players.
Speaking of Johnson, he and Green Bay head coach Matt LaFleur had a bit of an icy handshake at the end of the game. Perhaps it was just because both men wanted to get out of the freezing cold elements. Or, perhaps, LaFleur came into the game remembering this moment from Johnson's introductory press conference:
LaFleur said after the game that it wasn't personal, but how couldn't it be?
This is Packers-Bears, Bears-Packers. This rivalry has been alive and well since 1921, and it has always been hated, even in the times when the Bears have stunk.
And it may seem a bit backward, but it's good for the Packers that the Bears are suddenly competitive again. They said that "iron sharpens iron" and "a rising tide raises all ships".
If the Bears are playing at a high level, the Packers must match. If the Bears' front office is making strong moves, the Packers must do the same.
It's the nature of competition. The cream rises to the top, and now the Packers have a chance to keep elevating their game as they battle with their biggest rival for control of the NFC North.
Yes, it's exciting for the NFL. It's exciting for fans in general.
The Bears being good should be exciting for the Packers as well, though.
The oldest rivalry in the NFL has once again heated up. The Packers stepped up to the plate in the first round and came away with a win. Let's see if they can knock out Chicago in two weekends and give the Bears a burn that even a dip in Lake Michigan couldn't cool down.