More Bears Week Goodness » Brats & Beer

December 1, 2005
posted under: effin Bears, Packers, Pre-game

Obviously I hope that the Packers will be able to beat the Bears this Sunday, but it’s hard to say what will happen at this point. For now, though, we can look back at some of the recent history in the age-old rivalry between these two storied teams.

Brett Favre saw his first action against Chicago in October 1992, a 10-30 loss at Lambeau Field. The following month, though, the Packers rebounded to win 17-3 at Soldier Field. The next season the Bears and Packers again split their division series, with Green Bay winning at home 17-3 and Chicago besting the Green & Gold 17-30 in December.

A 33-6 victory by Green Bay in October 1994 started an uninterrupted string of victories for the next five seasons. The closest Chicago came to winning was in 1997 when the Packers narrowly escaped Soldier Field with a 24-23 victory. The widest margin of victory for Green Bay over that stretch was a 40-3 rout in December 1994.

The streak came to an end in November 1999, the first meeting under coach Ray Rhodes that saw Chicago manage a 14-13 victory at Lambeau Field. The Packers were struggling that season at 4-4 and had a 10-7 lead at halftime thanks to a seven-yard pass from Favre to tight end Tyron Davis. Quarterback Jim Miller put Chicago in the lead to stay in the third quarter, though, when he found Bobby Engram in the end zone. Green Bay eventually rebounded to win 35-19 that December, but they lost again the next season under first-year head coach Mike Sherman. The 24-27 loss at home saw the Bears build a 17-3 lead at halftime. But that winter brought a 28-6 Green Bay victory that started another long winning streak for the Green & Gold. Seven consecutive games the Packers won, including a sweep in 2001 during Chicago’s 13-3 NFC Central championship season.

In Lovie Smith’s first season as the Bears head coach, Chicago managed to overcome Green Bay 21-10 at Lambeau Field. Smith had declared beating the Packers his number one priority. The win came amid several missteps by the Green & Gold, including a goal line fumble by Ahman Green that Mike Brown returned 95 yards for a touchdown. An ugly, ugly game. But the Packers regrouped and went into Soldier Field in January looking for revenge, and did they ever get it. Favre played just the first quarter and the first series of the second, but threw touchdown passes to Bubba Franks and William Henderson as Green Bay won 31-14. Darren Sharper returned an interception for another score, and Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila recorded three sacks. What day that was.

Will that win over the Bears just 11 months ago be the start of a new streak of victories? We will find out on Sunday.