Olin Kreutz still thinks the Bears are for real after Packers loss

The longtime Chicago Bears center says the team's resilience stood out as a positive in the team's heartbreaking loss.

Chicago Bears wide receiver Olamide Zaccheaus (14) catches a touchdown pss against the Green Bay Packers cornerback Keisean Nixon (25) on Sunday, December 7, 2025, at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis. The Packers defeated the Bears 28-21. Wm. Glasheen USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin | Wm. Glasheen/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The result wasn’t what Chicago Bears fans wanted on Sunday afternoon, with the Bears falling 28-21 to the Green Bay Packers despite a furious second-half rally.

But if nothing else, the Bears proved their win over the Philadelphia Eagles wasn’t a fluke. They might be a flawed squad, but they’re no joke. And the Packers, though they no doubt took heart from the win, have been warned that this won’t be so easy going forward. 

Longtime Bears center Olin Kreutz, who knows quite a bit about this rivalry going back to his playing days, said the team’s comeback from a lackluster first half was evidence of that.

“You’re worried about them all through the first half when Caleb [Williams] had 32 passing yards, six first downs, 1-for-7 on third down. They only had 71 total yards on offense. … And you knew the Packers had the ball coming out of the second half. So you’re worried about that,” Kreutz recounted on 670 The Score's postgame show. “Then, the coaching adjustments kicked in. Started running the football. Caleb started heating up a little bit with Ben Johnson moving the pocket, getting him outside the pocket. Some of those throws were unbelievable. The defense comes out and gets a stop.

“They do fall short to the Green Bay Packers. But if the league is wondering if the Bears are for real or not, I think the Bears have announced the last two weeks that they are for real. They are a football team that intends to come, compete, and contend for this NFC North title.”

Eventually, moral victories won’t be enough for the Bears, especially when they keep falling to the now-division-leading Green Bay Packers in their increasingly one-sided rivalry. But with the Bears still sitting at 9-4 just one year into Ben Johnson’s tenure as head coach, there are worse places to be. Additionally, they proved once more that adversity doesn’t phase them. If you don’t step on these Bears’ necks, they’ll come for yours at the end of the game.

Fortunately, the Bears are just two weeks away from a shot at redemption against their bitterest NFC North foes, which could help them steal back control of the North if all goes well. Suffice it to say the Packers won’t be taking this one lightly, nor will any team the Bears face from here on out.

Because Kreutz is right: these Bears are for real, and they’re not going anywhere.

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