The Green Bay Packers‘ 17-9 victory over the Chicago Bears in Week 18 was a significant ending of the 2023 NFL regular season for many reasons. Of course, the most important of these reasons is that Green Bay is headed to the playoffs. In his first season as the Packers’ starter, quarterback Jordan Love has weathered every storm, proved all the doubters wrong, and entrenched himself as the starter for the long-term.
While making the playoffs is the most important reason the victory is significant, there are others that are worth mention for, well, bragging rights. The Packers versus Bears rivalry is one of the oldest in sports. The social media era, which allows anyone and everyone to express themselves from the safety of a screen, has emboldened players and fans. As a result, the fires of the rivalry are stoked to a temperature rivaling the Biblical fiery furnace.
Matt LaFleur took over as the head coach of the Packers in 2019. Since then, the Packers have played the Bears 10 times, and have won each game. That’s right: LaFleur is a perfect 10-0 against the Bears in his career as a head coach.
As impressive as that may be, there is one player on the team who has an even better record against the Chicago, and he let them know about it after the game.
Green Bay Packers Edge Rusher Preston Smith Owns the Chicago Bears
LaFleur’s arrival in Green Bay coincided with the arrival of a revamped defense. That offseason, general manager Brian Gutekunst signed Za’Darius Smith, Adrian Amos, and Preston Smith. Of those three, only Preston remains on the roster.
With his 10 wins over the Bears as a Packer, Smith now owns a 12-0 record over Chicago dating back to his days with the Washington Commanders. And he let them know all about it on X (formerly Twitter) after the game:
We just don’t lose to the Bears… I’m 12-0 🤷🏽♂️
— Preston Smith (@PrestonSmith91) January 8, 2024
Over the course of his career, Smith has registered 66 sacks. 7.5 of them, or over 10% of them, have come against Chicago.
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