Aaron Rodgers reignites rivalry with Bears after throwing shade at former division rivals
Former Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers fired shots at the Chicago Bears. He mocked their coaching hires' tradition of prioritizing victories over Green Bay during introductory press conferences. His comments highlight the stark contrast in mindset between these historic rivals.
Rodgers, now with the New York Jets, dominated the Bears during his 18-season tenure in Green Bay. The future Hall of Famer's remarkable success has helped the Packers build a commanding 108-95-6 all-time series lead.
On "The Pat McAfee Show" on Monday, Rodgers delivered a stinging reminder of Green Bay's supremacy. His comments carried extra weight given the Packers' recent continuation of their dominance over Chicago.
"Over the years, when they would hire new coaches in Chicago, at the introductory press conference, they always said, you know, 'want to win a Super Bowl, and we want to beat Green Bay,'" Rodgers said.
"We didn't have as many coaching changes over that time, but I don't think that Mike McCarthy or Matt Lafleur came in and made that a point. It's kind of an understanding for a while there over the years, it is a good chance we're gonna sweep them every year."
The statistics validate Rodgers' confident stance. Green Bay has won the last 11 matchups against Chicago and 16 of the last 17. Since 2010, the Bears have secured just four victories in 30 attempts against their rivals, with the Packers outscoring them 306 to 178 in the last 11 games.
Bears vs Packers history and Aaron Rodgers trying to change the culture in the Jets
The Bears once held the upper hand in this storied matchup. Chicago's dominance peaked in the 1980s when they won eight straight games from 1985 to 1988. They controlled the series with 15 wins in 17 games during that era.
The power shift started in 1994 when Green Bay launched a 10-game winning streak. They followed with seven consecutive victories between 2000 and 2003. Chicago's most recent success came in December 2018, when Mitchell Trubisky's 235-yard, two-touchdown performance secured a 24-17 division-clinching victory.
Even as Rodgers focuses on evaluating talent for the Jets' future, they're 4-11 and out of playoff contention.
“What you’re focusing on is the most important thing now,” Rodgers said on Sunday. “That’s not to change the reality of the situation being 4-11, out of the playoffs, going into an unknown offseason, but we’ve got to figure out what it means to be a professional. I think that’s an important part of building culture"
His latest comments, delivered with characteristic swagger, proved the QB's ability to keep the rivalry's flames burning across conference lines.