The Green Bay Packers take a short trip to Chicago to take on the rival Bears in Week 1 at Soldier Field. It is a matchup of the two winningest teams in NFL history during the regular season (Green Bay: 790 / Chicago: 786). It is the fifth straight year and the ninth time in the last 11 seasons Green Bay has started the season on the road.
- Green Bay is the only team in the NFL to open the season on the road each of the last five years (2019-23).
- It is the fifth time in the last six years that Green Bay has opened the season with an NFC North opponent.
- It will be the fifth time the Packers have opened the season in Chicago (1979, 1981, 2015, 2019).
- It is only the second time (2006) in the history of the series that the teams have met in the season opener and the season finale.
- Including a 2010 playoff victory at Chicago, Green Bay has won 24 of the last 29 meetings between the rivals at Soldier Field, including 12 of the last 13.
- Eight of the last 11 games between the two clubs at Soldier Field have been decided by single digits.
- Overall, the Packers have won eight straight games against the Bears and 12 of the last 13. The eight straight wins by Green Bay is the second longest streak by the Packers in the history of the series (10 straight from 1994-98).
- Week 2 sees Green Bay traveling to take on the Atlanta Falcons, marking the first time since 2016 that the Packers have opened the season with back-to-back road contests.
WITH THE CALL
FOX Sports, now in its 30th season as an NFL network television partner, will broadcast the game.
- Play-by-play man Kevin Burkhardt joins analyst Greg Olsen and sideline reporters Erin Andrews and Tom Rinaldi.
- The game is also available through NFL Sunday Ticket by YouTube.
- Sports USA Radio will be broadcasting to a national audience with Larry Kahn (play-by-play) and James White (analyst) on the call.
- All Packers games can be heard on the Packers Radio Network, which is made up of 51 stations in Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, Illinois and North and South Dakota. 97.3 The Game – WRNW-Milwaukee begins its second season as the flagship station of the Packers Radio Network. For a map and full listing of radio affiliates, go to packers.com/video/radio-network.Wayne Larrivee (play-by-play) and two-time Packers Pro Bowler Larry McCarren (analyst) call the action. McCarren first joined the team's broadcasts in 1995 and enters his 29th season calling Packers games. After originally being paired together in 1999, McCarren and Larrivee enter their 25th season of broadcasts together. They surpassed Jim Irwin and Max McGee for the most regular-season and postseason games broadcast for the Packers with 313 at the 2018 season opener against Chicago.
- The broadcast is also available on Sirius Satellite Radio (WTMJ feed).
THE DOPE ON THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT
Packers at Chicago:
- All-time, regular season: 104-94-6
- All-time, postseason: 1-1
- All-time, at Chicago (regular season): 52-52-2
- Streaks: Green Bay has won the last eight games played.
- Last meeting, regular season: Dec. 4, 2022, Soldier Field, Packers won, 28-19
COACHES CAPSULES
- Matt LaFleur: 47-19-0, .712; (2-3 postseason); 5th NFL season
- Matt Eberflus: 3-14-0, .176; (0-0 postseason); 2nd NFL season
- Head to Head: LaFleur 2-0 vs. Eberflus
- vs. Opponent: LaFleur 8-0 vs. Bears; Eberflus 0-2 vs. Packers
MATT LaFLEUR…In his fifth season as the Packers' 15th head coach.
- Enters his 15th season in the NFL, having previously served as an offensive coordinator for two seasons (Los Angeles Rams, 2017; Tennessee Titans, 2018), a quarterbacks coach for six seasons (Washington Redskins, 2010-13; Atlanta Falcons, 2015-16), and an offensive assistant for two seasons (Houston Texans, 2008-09).
- In his first four seasons leading the Packers, has authored one of the greatest starts to a head-coaching career in NFL history. Per the Elias Sports Bureau, his 47 wins are the second most in league history by a head coach in his first four seasons in the NFL, trailing only George Seifert (52 in 1989-92). Green Bay's 47-19 regular-season record since 2019 ranks No. 3 in the NFL and No. 1 in the NFC.
- Became the first coach in NFL history to post 13-plus wins in three straight seasons and his 39 wins from 2019-21 passed Seifert (38) for the most wins by an NFL head coach in his first three seasons in the league (Elias). His 39 wins are also tied for the second most by a coach over any three-season span in league history, trailing only Andy Reid's 40 wins with the Kansas City Chiefs from 2020-22 and Mike Ditka's 40 wins with the Chicago Bears from 1985-87 (Elias).
- Guided the Packers to a 27-6 record (.818) in the regular season from 2019-22 at Lambeau Field, the top home mark in the NFL since 2019. His .750 win percentage (18-6 record) against NFC North opponents in his first four seasons also ranks as the best in the history of the NFC North/Central (min. 10 games).
- In his first season leading the Packers in 2019, became the first coach in club history to lead the team to the playoffs in his debut season. Also led the largest one-year win improvement in team history (plus-seven wins).
MATT EBERFLUS…In his second season as the Bears' 17th head coach.
- Enters his 15th season in the NFL, having previously spent time with the Cleveland Browns (2009-10), Dallas Cowboys (2011-17) and Indianapolis Colts (2018-21).
- Under Eberflus, the Colts were the only NFL defensive unit to be ranked in the top 10 in scoring, run defense and takeaways in both 2020 and 2021.
- Finished third in the voting for the 2018 Associated Press NFL Assistant Coach of the Year after helping the Colts defense improve from 30th in the NFL in scoring and total yards in 2017 to 10th in scoring and 11th in total yards in his first season as defensive coordinator in 2018.
- Spent 17 years as a college coach in various roles at Toledo (1992-2000) and Missouri (2001-08).
THE PACKERS-BEARS SERIES
- These two franchises have met 206 times (regular season and postseason), which is the most in NFL history. Green Bay's 104 regular-season wins over Chicago are the team's most over any opponent.
- The teams have only met twice in the postseason with the most recent meeting following the 2010 season. The Packers beat the Bears, 21-14, at Soldier Field to earn a berth in Super Bowl XLV.
- With two wins over the Bears in 2017, Green Bay took and maintained the advantage in the series for the first time since leading 11-10-4 following the 1932 season.
- Green Bay is undefeated (8-0) against Chicago since head coach Matt LaFleur took over prior to the 2019 season (2019-22).
NOTABLE CONNECTIONS
Packers players with connections to Illinois include: G/T Royce Newman (Nashville), Jayden Reed (Naperville), and Lukas Van Ness (Barrington)…Packers QB Sean Clifford was born in Barrington, Ill. ...Bears LB T.J. Edwards (2015-18) and LB Jack Sanborn (2018-21) attended the University of Wisconsin…Bears WR Equanimeous St. Brown was drafted by the Packers in the sixth round (No. 207 overall) of the 2018 NFL Draft and played for the team in 2018 and 2020-21…Bears TE Robert Tonyan and TE Marcedes Lewis both spent the last five seasons (2018-22) with the Packers…Bears OL Lucas Patrick entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent with the Packers and played in Green Bay from 2016-21…Packers offensive line coach Luke Butkus served as an offensive assistant/assistant offensive line coach for the Bears from 2007-09 and was an offensive line coach at the University of Illinois in 2012 and from 2016-18…Butkus, who attended Bloom Trail (Ill.) High School, also signed as a rookie free agent with the Bears in 2002 and is the nephew of Hall of Fame linebacker Dick Butkus…Packers defensive coordinator Joe Barry was born in Murphysboro, Ill. ...Packers passing game coordinator (defense) Greg Williams is from Bolingbrook, Ill., and attended Bolingbrook (Ill.) High School…Williams entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent with the Bears in 1998 and also played for the Chicago Rush of the AFL from 2004-05…Packers senior analyst Tim Lester was born in Wheaton, Ill. …Lester also served as offensive coordinator (2002-03), and later as head coach (2008-12), at Elmhurst (Ill.) College…Packers tight ends coach John Dunn was a football assistant for the Bears in 2016 and an offensive assistant for the team in 2017…Bears offensive coordinator Luke Getsy was with the Packers as an offensive QC coach from 2014-15, WRs coach from 2016-17, QBs coach in 2019 and the pass game coordinator/QBs coach from 2020-21…Bears assistant tight ends coach Tim Zetts was an offensive QC coach for Green Bay in 2021…Bears assistant QBs/WRs coach Omar Young was an offensive QC coach for Green Bay from 2017-18…Packers defensive QC coach Justin Hood was a graduate assistant at the University of Illinois from 2013-14…Packers head coach Matt LaFleur and Bears offensive line coach Chris Morgan coached on the staff together in Washington from 2011-13 and Atlanta from 2015-16…LaFleur also coached with Bears special teams coordinator Richard Hightower in Houston in 2008 and in Washington from 2010-13…Bears CBs/passing game coordinator Jon Hoke was also on Houston's staff in 2008 with LaFleur and Hightower…Packers special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia and Bears head coach Matt Eberflus coached together on the staff in Dallas from 2013-17…Bisaccia was also on staff with Bears offensive QC coach Zach Cable for the Raiders in 2018-21…Packers pass rush specialist Jason Rebrovich was the assistant defensive line/defensive line coach for the Jaguars when Bears Yannick Ngakoue played for Jacksonville (2017-19)…Packers player personnel executive Lee Gissendaner played wide receiver at Northwestern from 1990-93…Packers president/CEO Mark Murphy was the athletic director at Northwestern from 2003-07…Packers DL T.J. Slaton and Bears RB Khalil Herbert are former high school teammates at American Heritage (Fla.) HS…Former college teammates include: Packers C/G Josh Myers and Bears QB Justin Fields (Ohio State); Packers S Darnell Savage, Bears WR DJ Moore and DL Yannick Ngakoue (Maryland); Packers QB Sean Clifford, T Rasheed Walker and Bears DB Jaquan Brisker (Penn State); Packers T Yosh Nijman and LB Tremaine Edmunds (Virginia Tech).
