Austin Booker is Still Public Enemy No. 1 For Packers

It will be a long time before fans of the Chicago Bears tire of reliving that sensational comeback victory over the Green Bay Packers in Week 16. Luckily for them, the Packers themselves don't seem to tire of reliving it, either. Packers receiver Romeo Doubs, who may not even be in Green Bay for the 2026 season, appeared on the Up & Adams podcast with NFL analyst Kay Adams on Wednesday. At one point, Adams asked Doubs when he thought the Bears-Packers rivalry was reignited, and his answer was an exhausting one.

"When they took Jordan [Love] out the game," the receiver said. "Everybody in the world knows it was a dirty hit."

"When they took Jordan [Love] out the game… Cause everybody in the world knows it was a dirty hit."

Packers WR Romeo Doubs on the moment that took the Bears-Packers rivalry to the next level 👀@RomeoDoubs | @heykayadams pic.twitter.com/jI1pf6KSjs
— Up & Adams (@UpAndAdamsShow) January 21, 2026

Illegal hits are not always dirty hits

I'm not sure why this particular controversy is still being debated. It's almost as ridiculous as the drama around Ben Johnson's handshake with Matt LaFleur following the Bears' miraculous Wild Card win. If you're unfamiliar with the hit being referenced, it came early in that Week 16 game. Bears' defensive end Austin Booker was bearing down on Jordan Love, and just before impact, Love lowered his head, resulting in helmet-to-helmet contact. The refs threw the flag, Booker was later fined by the NFL, and Love missed the rest of the game with a concussion.

Jordan Love lowered his head. Hope he's alright but not sure what Austin Booker can do here
pic.twitter.com/rYMisSPM31
— Dave (@davebfr) December 21, 2025

By the letter of the law, this was indeed an illegal hit as Booker's helmet contacted Love's. However, not every illegal hit is a dirty hit. A dirty hit implies malicious intent, such as when Charles Martin of the Green Bay Packers deliberately slammed Bears' quarterback Jim McMahon to the ground well after the play was over back in 1986, injuring his shoulder and ending McMahon's season.

Booker clearly never intended to injure Love. As aforementioned, had Love not lowered his head, he would never have gotten concussed. Far from "everyone knows it was a dirty hit", most of the NFL world, including future Hall of Fame defensive end J.J. Watt, defended Booker from the accusations of being a dirty player, accusations that mostly came from aggrieved Packers fans in the wake of that loss.

Idk what that green badge is brother, but it clearly doesn’t mean ball knower.

Ever tackled anyone before?
— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) December 29, 2025

Most importantly, if this hit was so flagrantly dirty as Doubs says it is, why did no one on the Packers respond in the moment? Not one player got in Booker's face, pushed him, or so much as pointed a finger at him. NFL offensive linemen are, by rule, fiercely protective of their quarterback. Dirty hits are met with immediate retaliation of some kind, and even some legal hits will earn the tackler a strong shove. The fact that Booker did not experience any of this undermines Doubs position.

The Bears-Packers rivalry has never been better than it is now

Whatever you think of that hit, the fact remains that the Bears-Packers rivalry is truly back and better than ever. It's been decades since both teams were good at the same time and could put on these kinds of shows for the fans. Remember, every Bears-Packers game since the Bears drafted Caleb Williams has come down to the very last minute, usually ending on a walk-off play.

Doubs is wrong about that hit, but he's right about this historic rivalry. It's back, it's better than ever, and right now, the Bears are the ones with their foot on the Packers' necks.