On the afternoon of Oct. 17, Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers let the world in on a little secret.
“I’ve owned you all my (bleeping) life! I own you! I still own you!” he screamed at the top of his lungs after his 6-yard touchdown scramble clinched the team’s latest victory over the Chicago Bears.
Once upon a time, it was the Bears who owned this rivalry. Chicago led the series from 1933 through 2016 – a span of 83 years.
Oh, how times have changed entering Sunday night’s rivalry game at Lambeau Field.
Starting with their second matchup of the 1992 season, when Brett Favre threw one touchdown pass and rushed for another in a 17-3 victory at Soldier Field, Green Bay has dominated the series so thoroughly that it might as well be the Globetrotters against the Generals.
Including the 2010 NFC Championship Game, which the Packers won 21-14 at Soldier Field, Green Bay is 45-14 in the last 59 matchups.
It’s not hard to see why.
During those 59 games, the Bears have thrown 57 touchdown passes. In 27 career starts against the Bears, during which he’s fashioned a 22-5 record, Rodgers has thrown 57 touchdowns.
And if those two sentences aren’t striking enough, here’s the tale of the tape:
Rodgers in 27 games (22-5 record): 66.5 percent, 7.64 yards per attempt, 57 touchdowns vs. 12 interceptions, 105.8 passer rating. Rodgers has 13 games with 100-plus passer ratings, or 48.1 percent of his starts against Chicago.
Bears quarterbacks in 59 games (14-45 record): 56.9 percent, 5.86 yards per attempt, 57 touchdowns vs. 91 interceptions, 64.3 passer rating. Chicago’s quarterbacks had five games with 100-plus passer ratings, or 8.5 percent of the games over the past three decades.
Bears quarterbacks in 28 games during the Rodgers era (5-23 record): 58.3 percent, 6.06 yards per attempt, 31 touchdowns vs. 43 interceptions, 70.1 passer rating. Chicago’s quarterbacks had two games with 100-plus passer ratings, or 7.1 percent.
With overwhelming dominance at quarterback, Green Bay has flipped a series it trailed 80-57-6 following Chicago’s 30-10 win at Lambeau Field on Oct. 25, 1992. Entering Sunday night, Green Bay leads 102-95-6.
When the teams met in October, rookie Justin Fields was the eighth Bears quarterback to start against Rodgers. Fields is battling cracked ribs and missed the last two games. If he can’t go, veteran Andy Dalton would be the ninth Bears quarterback to start against Rodgers.
While Rodgers is fourth in the NFL with a 105.5 passer rating this season, Dalton’s passer rating is 79.9 and Fields’ mark is 69.0. Rodgers has 23 touchdowns vs. four interceptions this season. Fields (four touchdowns, eight interceptions) and Dalton (six touchdowns, six interceptions) have combined for 10 touchdowns and 14 interceptions.
“Well, we’ve won a few in a row now,” Rodgers said with a smile after the game. “I love this rivalry. It’s been a lot of fun over the years. That’s what I told Justin on the field, I said, ‘Enjoy this. It’s a special rivalry, unlike any other in our game.’”
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