Packers Beat Bears, Pass Rivals for All-Time NFL Wins
CHICAGO – In a dour and disappointing season, the Green Bay Packers can take some solace in passing the Chicago Bears for the most wins in NFL history.
With Green Bay’s 28-19 victory over Chicago on a cold and sunny December Sunday, it won for 787th in its long and storied NFL history. Chicago, which is stuck on 786 wins, was alone atop the all-time wins list for 101 years.
“It means a lot,” quarterback Aaron Rodgers said. “I think that’s part of the legacy. You always want to leave the place you’re at better than you found it and right now we flipped the all-time series, we flipped the all-time wins. I’ve had a lot of success against them, so I think in a few years you look back and you feel pretty good about your contributions to the rivalry.”
The Packers trailed 19-10 after three quarters before going on an 18-0 run to end the game.
The previous three seasons were key in chasing, catch and finally passing the Bears. Under coach Matt LaFleur, the Packers went 39-10 from 2019 through 2021. The Bears, meanwhile, went 22-27. That was a 15-game swing in the standings. Moreover, since the Packers won the Super Bowl, they’ve had six seasons of more than 10 wins while the Bears have only one.
Green Bay entered the game with a 4-8 record but Chicago under first-year coach Matt Eberflus was even worse at 3-9.
“It is pretty cool when you think about it,” coach Matt LaFleur said. “Our team will go down in history. For this game to come to that, I think is a pretty cool deal and I think it’s great for the league. It’s what sports is all about, just to embrace those rivalries and get people excited about – especially where we’re at with our situations record-wise, it does give us something to get excited about.”
Before hitting the skids, the Packers had a chance to not only be No. 1 in wins but No. 1 in winning percentage. For instance, had the Packers defeated the Jets in Week 6, they would have had an all-time winning percentage of 0.5721 compared to 0.5719 for the Dallas Cowboys. Instead, with the Packers losing one game after another and the Cowboys surging back into contender status, Dallas’ winning percentage entering Sunday was 0.5731 while Green Bay was a second-best 0.5697.
A big reason for Green Bay moving past the Bears is the overwhelming advantage it’s enjoyed at quarterback with Brett Favre and Rodgers vs. the Bears’ revolving door of passers. When Chicago won at Lambeau Field on Oct. 25, 1992, it extended its series lead to 80-57-6. Since then, Green Bay is a resounding 47-14. Rodgers, playing with injured ribs and a broken thumb, improved his regular-season record against Chicago to an astounding 24-5 to extend the Packers’ series lead to 104-94-6.
“I love this history of this game,” Rodgers said before the teams met in Week 2. “When I got to this squad, Chicago was beating us on the all-time record and now we’re up by eight. So, that does mean a lot to me.”
Rather than the veteran Rodgers, the rookie Christian Watson gets a big helping of credit for the latest victory. Watson scored the first touchdown with a 14-yard catch on fourth down, set up the second with a 38-yard gain for pass interference and scored the third and final with a 46-yard run on a jet sweep.
“It’s exciting,” Watson said. “I can only speak for myself but I truly feel blessed to be part of an organization like the Green Bay Packers. Regardless of how the season so far has gone for us, I’m just happy to be part of this organization.”
The Packers have won eight in a row against Chicago, their second-longest winning streak since a 10-game stretch behind Favre from 1994 through 1998.
They’ve won 11 of their last 12 trips to Chicago, including the 2010 NFC Championship Game and last year’s memorable game, which was punctuated by Rodgers’ “I own you!” touchdown run.
Entering Sunday, the Giants were the only other team with 700 wins (713), and the Steelers (656), Commanders (624), Eagles (609) and Rams (602) are in the 600-win club. The Cardinals have the most losses (785), followed by the Lions (701), Giants (635), Eagles (628), Commanders (627), Bears (619) and Packers (589).
Green Bay has won 13 NFL championships. The Bears are next with nine, followed by the Giants with eight, Patriots and Steelers with six, and Cowboys, Colts, 49ers and Commanders with five.
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