Rodgers Continues to Crush Dreams of Bears Fans
GREEN BAY, Wis. – Aaron Rodgers once again stomped the soul out of Chicago Bears fans.
After an 87-second answer speaking fondly about Chicago and the city’s sports scene, the Green Bay Packers’ three-time MVP quarterback was asked if he could see himself playing for the Bears.
“No,” Rodgers said matter-of-factly after Wednesday’s practice. He added: “It’s just not going to happen.”
It was just the latest occasion in which Rodgers has tamed the so-called Monsters of the Midway.
In 25 career regular-season games against the Bears, Rodgers’ record is an overwhelming 20-5. Plus, the Packers won the 2010 NFC Championship Game en route to winning Super Bowl XLV. One of those handful of losses came in 2013, when he suffered a broken collarbone on the opening series. He’s thrown 55 touchdowns vs. 10 interceptions against Chicago in his career.
With Rodgers dominating, the Packers have turned the tables in a series once dominated by the Bears. After Chicago won at Green Bay 30-10 on Oct. 25, 1992, the Bears owned a commanding 81-58-6 lead. Since then, the Packers are 42-14 as Brett Favre and Rodgers piled up win after win after win against a who’s-not-who list of quarterbacks.
“Yeah, we’ve had a good run,” Rodgers said. “The main focus for so many of these coaches’ press conferences in Chicago is beating the Packers. We’ve had the upper hand for the last stretch with Favre and I. It’s been battles, though. It’s still a rivalry, still some great back-and-forth games. Only once in the playoffs in that time, but definitely had some battles, some cold-weather battles, some miserable games. Been some fun ones over the years.”
Fun is one word for it. In Rodgers’ last nine games in the rivalry, the Packers are 8-1 behind his almost incomprehensible 20 touchdowns vs. one interception.
While Soldier Field is one of the more reviled stadiums in the league, thanks to its often-treacherous surface, Rodgers had nary a bad word to say about it. No wonder. In the last 10 game in Chicago, Rodgers is 9-1 with 20 touchdowns vs. four interceptions
“Some great players in those games I’ve been fortunate enough to play against,” he said. “Love the stadium down there. It’s a great venue. They’ve done a better job with the grass over the last few years. But I remember distinctly in 2007, walking on that field and it was so damn cold and the whole field was crunchy. We took a step on it and there was probably, oh, I don’t know, 10-inch indentation in the grass and I was like, ‘How are we going to play today?’ But that’s just part of the rivalry.”
Only Favre (60 touchdowns in 36 games) has thrown more touchdowns than Rodgers (55 in 25 games) against the Bears. His six touchdown passes against Chicago in 2014 are the most ever against Chicago. Of the 18 games with 140-plus passer ratings vs. the Bears, Rodgers has authored five. Rodgers has eight games with 128-plus passer ratings against Chicago. From 2008 through this season, the 213-game totality of Rodgers’ career as the starter, there have been only 10 other games.
Of course, history is just that: history. He knows the challenge he will be facing on Sunday against a high-quality Bears defense fueled by statistically the best pass rush in the NFL.
“I’m just a small part of this journey,” Rodgers said. “It’s been over 100 years of playing and fortunate to have this little time right now to be able to be a starter and impact the all-time series. Little Green Bay was getting beat up for a long time by our foes to the south, and then Favrey showed up and we closed the gap and then we’ve overtaken them. It’s nice. But I don’t think it’s the most important part of the all-time legacy. It’s always a battle against them and always fun when we can beat them.”
