For the better part of the last decade, the Green Bay Packers haven’t just dominated the Chicago Bears-they’ve dismissed them. Whether it was the Trubisky years or the Justin Fields era, Packers players made no secret of how little they thought of their longtime rivals. “Fake contenders” was the label thrown around, and frankly, the Bears hadn’t done much to prove otherwise.
But something’s different now. And it’s not just the scoreboard-it’s the tone. It’s the respect.
After a hard-fought battle at Lambeau Field on Sunday, Packers running back Josh Jacobs didn’t offer the usual boilerplate postgame quotes. Instead, he acknowledged something that’s been quietly building in Chicago.
“You see what the head coach is preaching, you see how the guys are embodying that,” Jacobs said. “Even on the field, like they straining a little bit more, they doing a little bit more.
You could tell that they are believing in what he’s preaching.”
That’s not just a throwaway line. That’s a veteran player, in the middle of one of the NFL’s most storied rivalries, recognizing a cultural shift.
He saw it. He felt it.
And he said it out loud.
And it matters.
This wasn’t a meaningless December game. This was a playoff-caliber matchup in one of the league’s toughest environments.
Green Bay was at full strength, playing with urgency. Chicago didn’t blink.
They matched the Packers punch for punch, and even in a loss, they walked off the field as equals-not as the little brother they’ve been for years.
That’s new. That’s earned.
What makes this moment even more telling is how it reverberated beyond the field. National voices took notice.
Colin Cowherd called it “the best loss by any team in the NFL,” adding, “Chicago is legit.” Around the league, players and analysts echoed the sentiment.
Bears fans didn’t need anyone to tell them-they felt it. This team is different.
And it starts at the top.
Yes, Caleb Williams is the face of the franchise now, and yes, he’s showing the poise and talent that made him the No. 1 pick. But this isn’t just about quarterback play.
This is about identity. It’s about belief.
It’s about Ben Johnson’s vision taking hold in a locker room that’s no longer pretending to be tough-it’s living it.
The Bears are playing with purpose. They’re finishing runs, extending plays, and grinding through games with a level of physicality and focus that hasn’t been part of their DNA in a long time.
You can see it on tape. You can hear it in how opponents talk about them.
And now, even the Packers-long the gatekeepers of this rivalry-are admitting it.
Chicago has turned a corner. The respect they’ve been chasing for years?
They didn’t ask for it. They earned it.
The rivalry just got real again.