The Chicago Bears’ home state was more than happy to see the rival Green Bay Packers fall flat in the playoffs this year.
The Packers were shocked by the San Francisco 49ers in their divisional playoff game on Saturday, losing at home 13-10 in snowy conditions.
Illinois governor JB Pritzker took an opportunity to pile on the Packers on Sunday. Pritzker tweeted a message encouraging residents to get vaccinated and boosted against COVID-19.
“Unlike the Packers offense, we know vaccines are still effective in the winter,” Pritzker wrote.
Green Bay’s offense did indeed struggle in the cold. After averaging 365.6 yards and 26.5 points per game in the regular season, the Packers managed just 263 yards and ten points Saturday. Granted, the Niners’ offense did not do much better in the snow either. But the team managed to take advantage of multiple special teams miscues by Green Bay to squeak out the win.
The Packers won’t like being kicked when they are down. But they probably had it coming with the trash they talked at the Bears’ expense this season.
Photo: Oct 28, 2021; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (12) reacts against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Chicago Bears fans seem to be counting down the days until Matt Nagy is fired, but there is a time and place to express displeasure in your favorite team’s head coach. The coach’s son’s football game probably isn’t it.
Bears fans have busted out “fire Nagy!” chants in a number of different settings over the past few weeks. One of them was a high school football on Saturday where Nagy’s son was playing. Nagy reportedly was in attendance for Lake Forest High School’s semifinal game against Cary-Grove, and a “fire Nagy!” chant could be heard during the fourth quarter.
The same chants were heard during the Chicago Bulls game on Monday night.
It’s one thing for fans to call for Nagy’s firing at a Bears game or another professional sporting event. Doing so at his son’s football game is pretty classless and takes attention away from high school kids.
For what it’s worth, Bears fans may get their wish soon. Mark Konkol of Patch reported on Tuesday that Nagy has been informed he will be relieved of his duties after the Bears face the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving Day.
There have been indications that Nagy has lost the locker room in Chicago. The coach is 3-7 this year and 31-27 in his three-plus seasons as Bears head coach.
Photo: Jun 13, 2019; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bears head coach Matt Nagy is interviewed during Veteran Minicamp at Halas Hall. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-USA TODAY Sports
Aaron Rodgers continued his dominance of the Chicago Bears on Sunday, and he was not exactly humble about it. The Green Bay Packers star had some savage trash talk for fans at Soldier Field, but we know one player on the home team who did not lose sleep over it.
Rodgers scored a key rushing touchdown late in the fourth quarter of Green Bay’s 24-14 win over the Bears. He did his token championship belt celebration before yelling “I still own you!” at the fans (video here). Bears tight end Cole Kmet was asked on Wednesday how he felt about the trash talk, and he admitted Rodgers is “not totally wrong.”
No, he certainly is not. With the win, Rodgers improved to 22-4 in his career against the Bears. He has now won 10 of his last 11 against his division rival at Soldier Field. Rodgers has owned Chicago throughout his career, and that dominance continued on Sunday.
For what it’s worth, Rodgers says he had a good reason for trolling the fans so hard.
Aaron Rodgers brought us one of the best moments of Week 6 when he ruthlessly taunted Chicago Bears fans, and Tom Brady seemed to enjoy it as much as anyone.
During the latest episode of his “Let’s Go!” podcast on SiriusXM Radio, Brady sarcastically congratulated Rodgers on becoming a “shareholder of the Bears.”
“I saw a clip of him really enthusiastically telling the crowd how happy he is to own Soldier Field. That’s really great stuff,” Brady joked. “He owns the (Milwaukee) Bucks now and part of Solider Field. He’s got a great career beyond football.”
Rodgers gave the Packers a two-score lead in their win over the Bears on Sunday with a rushing touchdown late in the fourth quarter. After the play, microphones caught the reigning MVP clearly yelling “I still own you!” at the fans. You can see the video here.
While he may not have expected the trash talk to be picked up and go viral, Rodgers said he had a good reason for going at Bears fans so hard.
Brady and Rodgers have been trading funny barbs since before they played against one another in “The Match” over the summer. We’ll anxiously await Rodgers’ latest response.
Aaron Rodgers showed no mercy to Chicago Bears fans after he scored a big touchdown late in Sunday’s game, but the Green Bay Packers star says his trash talk was a response to a not-so-friendly gesture from someone in the stands at Soldier Field.
Rodgers scored a rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter that essentially sealed the win for the Packers. After the play, microphones caught the reigning MVP clearly yelling “I still own you!” at the fans.
Rodgers was asked about the savage trash talk after Green Bay’s 24-14 victory. He joked that he “blacked out” but then revealed that a woman who was seated in the front row flipped him the double bird.
We’re guessing Rodgers probably had no love for Bears fans to begin with. He reminded us of that earlier this week when asked if he would ever play for Chicago. The woman flipping him off must have just sealed the deal.
Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers has no love for the Chicago Bears, as was once again evidenced Sunday.
Rodgers scored a vital rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game against the Bears, extending the Packers’ lead to ten points. To say Rodgers was pumped up after scoring would be an understatement. First, he flashed the championship belt. Then, field mics caught Rodgers screaming in the direction of Bears fans, very clearly: “I still own you!”
The Packers and the Bears are long-standing rivals. Rodgers has gleefully embraced that. The quarterback came into Sunday’s game with a 20-5 lifetime record against Chicago. The 55 passing touchdowns he had thrown against them were his most against any opponent.
Rodgers definitely leans into how much Bears fans don’t like him. It was even a topic of conversation coming into the game, with the quarterback eagerly stirring the pot some more.
Chicago Bears fans are excited to get their first real look at rookie Justin Fields, but that does not mean they want to kick veteran quarterback Andy Dalton while he is down.
Dalton will miss Sunday’s game against the Cleveland Browns after he suffered a knee injury in Week 3. Fields will make his first NFL start as a result. After head coach Matt Nagy made the news official on Wednesday, a group of Bears fans started a movement on Reddit to encourage donations to Dalton’s official charity.
“Let’s Donate $14 each to thank Andy for giving us his all!” the original Reddit post said.
The call was answered. Dalton’s wife Jordan told Daniel Greenberg that she and Andy have been overwhelmed by the donations.
Bears fans have been clamoring for months for the team to start Fields. The majority of them are thrilled that they get to see the rookie make his first NFL start on Sunday, but you have to give them credit for trying to keep it classy in the wake of Dalton’s knee injury.
This isn’t the first time fans have flooded Dalton’s charity with donations. Though, the previous coordinated effort came amid much different circumstances.
The Chicago Bears are adamant that Andy Dalton will be the team’s starting quarterback this season, but that won’t stop opponents from keeping an eye on the Justin Fields factor.
That’s what the Los Angeles Rams are doing, according to coach Sean McVay. On Monday, McVay said he felt it would be “naive” to not be ready to see Fields in some role despite him not being the starting quarterback.
The Bears haven’t necessarily said that Fields will have any role, either on gadget plays or to give defenses a different look. On the other hand, the Bears have made it pretty clear that if Dalton doesn’t perform, they won’t be afraid to turn to Fields instead.
Fields is certainly the preferred choice of Bears fans, to the point that Fields has found it a little bit embarrassing. If the Bears do give Fields a play or two, it’s only going to increase fans’ desire to see him move to the top of the depth chart. If it does happen, though, it sounds like the Rams will be ready.
Most Chicago Bears fans have made it clear during the preseason that they want Justin Fields to be the team’s starting quarterback in Week 1. The former Ohio State star appreciates the support, but he does not want it to come at the expense of Andy Dalton.
Dalton played the entire first half of Saturday’s preseason loss to the Buffalo Bills. His best highlight was a 79-yard touchdown pass to Rodney Adams, but the offense did not look great with him under center outside of that play. Dalton was booed at one point and fans at Soldier Field could be heard chanting “we want Fields!”
Dalton said after the game that the boos are “part of it.” Fields, however, was critical of Bears fans.
“I really think it’s kind of disrespectful to Andy, them cheering my name out like that,” Fields said, via Alex Shapiro of NBC Sports Chicago. “Just cheer him on, you know? That’s not helping Andy play better, to cheer my name. That’s not doing none of that. My advice to them would be just cheer whoever’s on the field.”
Fields is obviously a more exciting player than Dalton. Fans pretty much know what Dalton is capable of at this point, and his ceiling has been established. Still, Bears head coach Matt Nagy has consistently said Dalton will be the team’s starter going into the season.
Dalton recently had a strong response for Bears fans who are calling for Fields to take his job. Fields knows he is going to get his shot in Chicago, so focusing on being a good teammate is a wise approach for him.
Mitchell Trubisky will return to Soldier Field in Chicago on Saturday for the first time as a visiting player, and some Bears fans may feel inclined to boo their former quarterback. Tarik Cohen clearly does not want that to happen.
Cohen, who was teammates with Trubisky for four seasons in Chicago, had a message for Bears fans on Friday. He said anyone who boos Trubisky during the Bears’ preseason game against the Buffalo Bills is “lame and a weirdo.”
The Bears used the No. 2 overall pick in the 2017 Draft on Trubisky. To say that it did not work out would be an understatement, but that was not entirely Trubisky’s fault. Head coach Matt Nagy was not with the team when Trubisky was drafted, and the two never seemed like a good fit. Nagy has faced a great deal of criticism for how he handled Tribusky, and a lot of it is deserved.
While Trubisky can fairly be labeled a bust, he wasn’t exactly put in a thrive to succeed in Chicago. Cohen likely realizes that and thinks Bears fans should as well.
