Packers travel to Chicago to play the Bears

GREEN BAY (7-6) AT CHICAGO (3-10)
Sunday, Dec. 18 l Soldier Field l 12 p.m. CST

The Green Bay Packers return to the road to take on the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field. The Packers have won four consecutive games against the Bears in December, three of which were played in Chicago.

• Green Bay won the first matchup between the two teams this season, 26-10, in Week 7.
• Sunday will mark game No. 194 in the NFL's oldest rivalry. The Bears hold a 94-93-6 edge in the series, which includes two playoff games (1-1).
• Including a 2010 playoff victory at Chicago, Green Bay has won 19 of the last 23 meetings between the rivals at Soldier Field.
• The Packers have won at Chicago in the regular season each of the last five years.
• It will be the 10th time since 2000 that the Packers have played at Chicago in December/January during the regular season. Green Bay is 6-3 in those contests.
• It is the first time the Packers have played in Chicago in December since 2013, a 33-28 Green Bay victory.
• Under Head Coach Mike McCarthy, the Packers are 15-7 against the Bears during the regular and postseason, including wins in 11 of the last 13 games.
• In all but one of the 15 wins under McCarthy, Green Bay has scored at least 20 points.
• In the 14 seasons of the NFC North (2002-15), the Packers (eight) and Bears (three) have accounted for 11 division titles.
• This is the first of three straight games against division opponents, with two taking place on the road. It is the first time since 2006 that the Packers will finish the regular season with three straight games against NFC North opponents.
• Next week, Green Bay will play its final home game of the regular season when it hosts the Minnesota Vikings.
• The Packers will be playing on a Saturday during the regular season for the first time since 1997 and playing on Christmas Eve for the first time since 2004, when they won, 34-31, at Minnesota.

***This is an abbreviated version of the Dope Sheet. Read the full version here (PDF)***

RODGERS AND THE BEARS

• With Aaron Rodgers as the starting quarterback, Green Bay is 14-4 during the regular and postseason against the Bears, with one loss coming in 2013 after Rodgers left the game with an injury after the first series.
• In the 18 games against Chicago, Rodgers has an overall passer rating of 104.1 and has thrown for a passer rating of 100-plus in four of the last five matchups, including a rating of 102.2 in the first meeting this season.
• Of the players that have attempted 175 or more passes against the Bears during the regular and postseason, Rodgers' 104.1 passer rating is No. 1 in the league.
• In the last five games against the Bears, Rodgers has completed 119 of 177 passes for 1,334 yards, 17 touchdowns, one interception and a passer rating of 119.2. He has registered passer ratings of 140.0-plus in three of the five contests (140.5, 145.8, 151.2).

WITH THE CALL

FOX Sports, now in its 23rd season as an NFL network television partner, will broadcast the game.

• Play-by-play man Kevin Burkhardt joins analyst John Lynch and sideline reporter Pam Oliver.
• Milwaukee's WTMJ (620 AM), airing Green Bay games since November 1929, heads up the Packers Radio Network that is made up of 50 stations in five states. 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 22nd season calling Packers games. After originally being paired together in 1999, McCarren and Larrivee enter their 18th season of broadcasts together.
• Westwood One will air the game on radio across the country. Kevin Lee (play-by-play) and Ross Tucker (analyst) will call the action while Scott Graham will host pre-game and halftime shows.
• The broadcast is also available on Sirius Satellite Radio (WTMJ feed).
• DIRECTV subscribers can watch the game on Channel 711.

THE DOPE ON THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT:

Packers vs. Bears:

• All-time, Regular season: 92-93-6   
• All-time, Postseason: 1-1
• All-time, in Chicago: 47-52-2 
• Streaks: The Packers have won 13 of 16 regular-season matchups since 2009.   
• Last meeting, regular season: Oct. 20, 2016; Packers won, 26-10, Lambeau Field

COACHES CAPSULES

Mike McCarthy: 119-68-1, .636 (incl. 8-7 postseason); 11th NFL season
John Fox: 136-116-0, .540 (incl. 8-7 postseason); 15th NFL season
Head to Head: McCarthy 4-2
vs. Opponent: McCarthy 15-7 vs. Bears; Fox 3-6 vs. Packers

MIKE McCARTHY…Is in his 11th year as the Packers' 14th head coach.

• Joined Vince Lombardi and Mike Holmgren as the only coaches to guide the Packers to a Super Bowl title with a win over Pittsburgh in Super Bowl XLV.
• Led the Packers to their seventh consecutive playoff appearance last season, joining New England as the only two NFL teams to do so over that span. Has also led the team to eight playoff appearances in the last nine years (2007, 2009-15).
• Guided the Packers to top-10 finishes in scoring in eight straight seasons (2007-14), joining the Patriots as the only other team to accomplish the feat over that time; Packers finished first overall in scoring in 2014.
• His .645 winning percentage during the regular season (111-61-1) ranks No. 3 among active NFL head coaches (min. 50 games).
• Had 104 regular-season wins in his first 10 seasons as a head coach, ranking No. 3 in NFL history.

JOHN FOX…Is in his second year as the Bears' 15th head coach.

• Inherited the 30th-ranked defense and improved the Bears to the No. 14 ranking in the NFL after one season.
• Led the Broncos to four division titles, joining Chuck Knox (L.A. Rams) as the only coaches in NFL history to lead their respective team to four division titles in their first four years with the franchise.
• Between Carolina and Denver, made seven trips to the postseason, captured six division titles and made three conference championship appearances and two Super Bowl appearances.
• One of six coaches in NFL history to lead two different teams to Super Bowl appearances (Carolina in 2003 and Denver in 2013).
• Ranks third among active NFL head coaches with 136 career wins.

THE PACKERS-BEARS SERIES

• No two teams have met on the gridiron more than the Packers and Bears as Sunday marks the 194th matchup.
• Starting in 1923, the clubs met for 59 straight years until both games in 1982 were canceled as part of a strike-shortened season.
• During the 2010 season, the teams squared off in the playoffs for just the second time in the history of the series. With a berth in Super Bowl XLV on the line, the Packers emerged victorious, 21-14, in the NFC Championship Game at Soldier Field.       
• The last time Green Bay led the overall series? On the heels of its three straight NFL championships, 1932, when the Packers led 11-10-5.
• Green Bay is 14-4 against Chicago under QB Aaron Rodgers.

NOTABLE CONNECTIONS

Packers LB Julius Peppers played for the Bears from 2010-13...Green Bay offensive coordinator Edgar Bennett played running back in Chicago  from 1998-99...Chicago G Josh Sitton was originally drafted by Green Bay in the fourth round (135th overall) of the 2008 NFL Draft and played for the Packers from 2008-15...Packers president & chief executive officer Mark Murphy was the athletic director at Northwestern from 2003-07...Green Bay special teams coordinator Ron Zook was the head coach at Illinois from 2005-11...Packers T Bryan Bulaga played at Marian Central Catholic High in Woodstock, Ill. ...Chicago secondary coach Ed Donatell was the defensive coordinator for the Packers from 2000-03...Packers DE Dean Lowry is from Rockford, Ill., and attended Northwestern...Bears DL C.J. Wilson was drafted by Green Bay in the seventh round in 2010 and played for the Packers for four seasons (2010-13)...Green Bay WR Geronimo Allison played at Illinois...Bears tight ends coach Frank Smith is from Milwaukee...Chicago running backs coach Stan Drayton was Green Bay's offensive quality control/special teams coach from 2001-03...Green Bay defensive front assistant Jerry Montgomery played for the Chicago Rush...Packers director of player engagement Rob Davis served as Chicago's long snapper for all 16 games in 1996...Peppers played for Bears head coach John Fox in Carolina for his first eight seasons (2002-09)...Packers defensive line coach Mike Trgovac coached with Fox (2002-08) and Bears offensive line coach Dave Magazu (2003-08) in Carolina...Packers head coach Mike McCarthy and Bears special teams coordinator Jeff Rodgers coached in San Francisco in 2005...Chicago quarterbacks coach Dave Ragone played quarterback for the Houston Texans from 2003-05 when Packers defensive coordinator Dom Capers was the head coach...Capers coached with Chicago defensive coordinator Vic Fangio with the Baltimore Stars (USFL) in 1984, New Orleans (1986-91) and Houston (2002-05)...Bears linebackers coach Glenn Pires was colleagues with Capers in Miami (2006-07)...Fox was the defensive coordinator of the Los Angeles Raiders in 1994 when Packers associate head coach/linebackers Winston Moss played linebacker...Green Bay tight ends coach Brian Angelichio spent 2014 in Cleveland with Chicago offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains and assistant special teams coach Richard Hightower...Loggains coached Packers TE Jared Cook in Tennessee for four seasons (2009-12)...Cook and Bears OL Eric Kush were Rams teammates in 2015...Donatell was the defensive backs coach in Denver while Packers strength and conditioning assistant Chris Gizzi was on the team as an undrafted free agent in 1998...During the time that Bears general manager Ryan Pace was with the Saints from 2001-14, Packers vice president of football administration/player finance Russ Ball, McCarthy, Moss and Zook were all on staff...Angelichio and Bears offensive assistant Ben McDaniels coached in Tampa Bay from 2012-13...Fangio (2011-14), Donatell (2011-14) and Hightower (2015) coached in San Francisco with Packers defensive quality control coach Ejiro Evero...Trgovac and Magazu coached at Navy (1989) and Ball State (1986) together...Fox was an assistant under Zook when Zook was Kansas' defensive coordinator in 1983...Green Bay LS Brett Goode was teammates with Loggains at Arkansas from 2003-04 when Loggains played quarterback for the Razorbacks...Bears RB Jordan Howard and Packers T Jason Spriggs were teammates at Indiana from 2013-15...Packers DE/LB Datone Jones was teammates with Bears TE Logan Paulsen from 2008-09...Bears DB Deon Bush (2012-14) and P Pat O'Donnell (2013) were Miami teammates with Packers CB LaDarius Gunter...Green Bay CB Makinton Dorleant played at Northern Iowa with Bears DB Deiondre' Hall from 2013-15...Packers C Corey Linsley and Chicago OL Mike Adams were Ohio State teammates from 2010-11...Green Bay FB Aaron Ripkowski and Chicago DB Demontre Hurst played together at Oklahoma from 2011-12.

***This is an abbreviated version of the Dope Sheet. Read the full version here (PDF)***

LAST MEETING, REGULAR SEASON

Oct. 20, 2016, Lambeau Field, Packers won, 26-10

• QB Aaron Rodgers completed 39 passes, setting a Packers franchise record for most in a single game.
• The Packers' defense intercepted two Matt Barkley passes, holding Chicago to 130 passing yards and just 45 offensive plays.
• WR Davante Adams had 13 receptions for 132 yards (10.2 avg.) and two TDs. He was one of three Packers (Randall Cobb, 11; Ty Montgomery, 10) receivers with 10-plus receptions.
• Montgomery had 126 all-purpose yards (66 receiving, 60 rushing).