LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — Jordan Love remembers soaking it all in during the national anthem when Green Bay visited Chicago last year. The season opener was the dawn of a new era for the Packers.
Love showed he might be ready to follow in the footsteps of Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers as he led Green Bay to yet another win over the Bears. This time, the storylines are different. The Packers (6-3) hope to keep pace in the tight NFC North and maintain their dominance in this storied rivalry, while the Bears (4-5) look to put the brakes on a skid that just cost their offensive coordinator his job .
“With this rivalry we know what this game’s all about and we take pride in that,” Love said. The Packers have dominated the Bears, winning 10 in a row and 25 of the past 28 meetings, including the NFC championship game at the end of the 2010 season. The current streak matches the longest by either team in the rivalry, matching a run by Green Bay from 1994-98.
While the Packers would surely love to extend the streak, there's also that other matter of trying to catch division rivals Detroit (8-1) and Minnesota (7-2). Green Bay had a bye last week following a loss to the Lions that stopped a four-game win streak. The last-place Bears have dropped three straight after winning three in a row prior to their bye.
Their offense has gone back-to-back games without a touchdown for the first time since 2004. Chicago fired an offensive coordinator for the second time in 10 months when it l.