Bears have opportunity to show again they've gained the upper hand in their rivalry with Packers

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — After beating the Green Bay Packers for the NFC North title and knocking them out of the playoffs last season, the Chicago Bears have one more opportunity to show definitively that a new chapter has started in the NFL’s most-played rivalry.

Chicago has won three of its past four meetings with the Packers, who had beaten the Bears 11 straight times from 2019-24. The Bears beat the Packers 22-16 in overtime last December after scoring 10 points in the final two minutes of regulation and then erased a 21-3 halftime deficit to beat them again 31-27 in the NFC wild-card playoffs.

The quarterback who led both those comebacks won't be playing Sunday when the Bears (3-1) meet the Packers (2-2) again at Lambeau Field. Tyson Bagent is expected to start in place of Caleb Williams, who has missed Chicago’s past two games with a hamstring injury.

“To say this is just like any game just wouldn’t be true,” Bagent said. “This is one of the greatest rivalries in all of sports.”

Ben Johnson’s arrival as the Bears coach last season has spiced up this series.

Johnson’s locker room speech following the Bears’ playoff win over Green Bay gained lots of traction on social media as video showed him shouting an expletive before adding “the Packers.”

Packers linebacker Zaire Franklin is new to this rivalry, yet he already understands the harsh feelings between these teams.

“It’s a lot of bad blood — a lot of bad blood,” said Franklin, who came to Green Bay this year after spending eight seasons in Indianapolis. “A lot of genuine dislike, which is a little different than nowadays. Nowadays, most rivalries are just on social media, and in the offseason, you’re hanging out. I don’t think nobody wants to hang out with the Bears in the offseason.”

While Chicago has overcome Williams’ injury to start fast, the Packers are having a tougher time dealing with the absences of key players.

Green Bay has lost linebacker Edgerrin Cooper (Achilles tendon), offensive tackle Zach Bako-Bewele (knee) and wide receiver Jayden Reed (neck) to season-ending injuries.

All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons hasn't played yet this season as he recovers from a torn anterior cruciate ligament. Green Bay’s running game has struggled without Josh Jacobs, who is on the commissioner’s exempt list after pleading no contest to two misdemeanor charges stemming from a May altercation with his then-girlfriend.

Green Bay could get over .500 for the first time this season by avenging those two losses to the Bears and perhaps silencing Johnson for the time being.

“I mean, he’s dissing us,” Packers offensive tackle Jordan Morgan said. “He’s dissing the Packers. A lot of people in here, I’m pretty sure, take that to heart. And we’ve got a chance to prove to everybody on Sunday that we’re the best team.”

Chicago (3-1) at Green Bay (2-2)

When/where to watch: Sunday, 1 p.m. EDT, Fox.

Latest odds: Bears by 1 1/2

Against the spread: Bears 3-1; Packers 1-3

Last week: Bears beat the New York Jets 23-12 at home; Packers won 17-14 at Tampa Bay.

Last meeting: Bears beat the Packers 31-27 in an NFC wild-card playoff game on Jan. 10 at Chicago.

Series record: Packers lead 109-98-6

Bears running game vs. Packers run defense: Chicago has an NFL-leading 196.3 yards rushing per game with Kyle Monangai and D'Andre Swift splitting carries. Monangai (thumb/toe) didn't practice Wednesday or Thursday. Swift (hip/knee) didn't practice Wednesday and was limited Thursday. Green Bay has allowed 139.3 yards rushing per game to rank 28th in the NFL in run defense, and opponents have run wild in the Packers' past two home games. Derrick Henry rushed for 216 yards — the most ever by a visiting player at Lambeau Field — when Green Bay lost 41-24 to Baltimore in its home finale last season. Atlanta's Bijan Robinson rushed for 194 yards as the Falcons beat Green Bay 35-14 in the Packers' home opener this season.

— The Bears lead the NFL in total yards per game (429.0) and time of possession (36:36).

— Bears DB Dillon Thieneman has started his rookie season by leading the team in tackles in each of his first four games.

— In its previous game, Chicago's defense didn't allow the Jets to convert any of their seven third down situations.

— The Bears have an NFL-leading 14 drives of at least 10 plays.

— The Bears have an NFL-best turnover margin of plus-23 since Johnson's arrival in 2025.

— Packers QB Jordan Love has 13 touchdown passes and two interceptions in seven games against the Bears, including last season's playoff loss.

— In Green Bay's victory at Tampa Bay, S Evan Williams became the first Packer to have at least seven tackles, multiple passes defended, a sack and an interception in a game since Morgan Burnett did it against Carolina in 2011.

— Green Bay has won its past eight October games.

— The Packers have an NFL-high 86 penalty yards per game.

AP freelance reporter Gene Chamberlain contributed to this report.

See AP’s full NFL coverage here

Chicago Bears linebacker T.J. Edwards (53) and linebacker D'Marco Jackson, right, celebrate after Edwards intercepted a pass during the second half of an NFL football game against the Philadelphia Eagles in Chicago, Monday, Sept. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love (10) aims a pass during the first half of an NFL football game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Tampa, Fla., Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Jason Behnken)

Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson is seen before an NFL football game against the New York Jets Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Chicago Bears quarterback Tyson Bagent throws during the first half of an NFL football game against the New York Jets Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — Republican Mike Rogers and Democrat Abdul El-Sayed are debating for the first time Thursday as they compete for an open U.S. Senate seat in Michigan, a race that has become one of the nation's most closely watched and contentious.

For Rogers, a former congressman who was unchallenged in the Aug. 4 primary, the evening debate in Grand Rapids will be his first since facing off two years ago against then-U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin in a Senate race that the Democrat won by just under 20,000 votes.

El-Sayed, a progressive and former public health official, participated in multiple primary debates against U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens before capturing the nomination by less than a percentage point and advancing to the Nov. 3 general election.

Thursday's debate began at 7 p.m. ET and is being streamed locally on WOOD TV8, an NBC affiliate station, and nationally on NewsNation.

President Donald Trump assailed El-Sayed in a social media post late Wednesday, referring to him as “Mohammed” and saying he “goes back to the days of the Jihad.”

“He is a RADICAL Extremist, Terrorist Sympathizer,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

El-Sayed, who was born in the U.S. to Egyptian immigrant parents, responded by pointing out that the president knows his name: “He says it every day.”

“He’s not just attacking me. He’s attacking all of us,” El-Sayed wrote. “He thinks he can use my name and my faith to distract us from the suffering his policies are inflicting on us.”

El-Sayed, trailing significantly in ad spending, has crisscrossed the state for events while also sitting for interviews ranging from Fox News to The New York Times’ Ezra Klein. He has often used those appearances to go after Rogers.

“We are running to win the race. He’s running not to lose the race,” El-Sayed said of Rogers during a Tuesday interview with The Associated Press.

Rogers has held fewer public events while outside groups have spent heavily on ads.

Rogers' campaign did not make him available for an interview before the debate. He is scheduled to appear Friday in Oakland County with Sen. John Kennedy, R-La.

Rogers has broken with Trump on two major issues in recent weeks. In September, Rogers said the war with Iran needed to “end quickly.” On Wednesday, he released an ad criticizing Trump’s tariffs on Canada, saying, “We know that Canada is not our enemy” and “We need to end this tariff war now.”

El-Sayed is working to reunite a Democratic coalition that splintered during the primary and he is trying to appeal to independents and voters who previously backed Trump. He appeared Thursday with Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, their first appearance since she endorsed Stevens in the primary.

Rogers faces a different balancing act as he works to turn out Republicans without Trump on the ballot and competes for moderates.

This combination photo of images taken in Detroit shows Senate nominees Republican Mike Rogers, Aug. 20, 2026, left, and Democrat Abdul El-Sayed, Aug. 19, 2026. (AP Photos/Paul Sancya)

FILE - Abdul El-Sayed, a progressive candidate in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Michigan, speaks during a campaign rally at a coffee shop, Aug. 3, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)

The U.S. Capitol is seen Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)