Head coach Ben Johnson knew the grip that the Green Bay Packers have had on the Chicago Bears for most of the past 30 years. It grew so lopsided at points that the organization developed a complex, wondering if they would ever escape the hell they were living in. Johnson decided there was only one way to do it. He’d have to confront the bully straight on. No more gestures of class and appreciation of the history between the two teams. This is a rivalry, and he would treat it as one. Players like Javon Bullard, still new to the experience, weren’t ready for that.
Johnson immediately said how much he loved beating Packers head coach Matt LaFleur twice a year while with the Detroit Lions. Every time Green Bay came up in conversations, he’d take jabs at them. It got to the point where Bullard and others were wondering why LaFleur refused to respond. You can’t let somebody talk about you like that. Still, a win at Lambeau Field reaffirmed everything they knew. The Packers still controlled the rivalry. Then Chicago beat them in overtime in the rematch. Then they erased a 21-3 deficit in the playoffs to stun them in the wild card round. All of Green Bay was left shellshocked.
Javon Bullard remains defiant.
Despite those setbacks, the defensive back insisted to Tyler Dunne of Go Long TD that the Bears are nothing more than a minor blip on the radar. Green Bay would reassert its dominance in the next meeting.
Bullard is a man who hates everything about Chicago (except their food) and doesn’t care who hears him. Multiple times in our conversation, the nickel back implored his head coach to stand up. He didn’t like Ben Johnson’s antics. “Don’t let him try to shit on you like that,” Bullard said.
“They got two little wins last year,” Bullard said. “But don’t forget who the big brother is. We’re still big brother. They got a long way to go before they can try to shit on us. But we got to show them, too. We can’t just talk that shit. We’ve got to be about it. So it’s going to be hell next year, man. It’s going to be hell.”
Bullard clearly isn’t familiar with sibling rivalries.
There are many instances throughout history in which the little brother eventually overtook the big brother, be it in physical stature or accomplishments. He tends to forget that there was a long period in the early days of the NFL where the Bears were the big brother of the rivalry. They were 80-56-6 all-time against the Packers by the end of the 1991 season. Then Green Bay landed Brett Favre in 1992, and everything changed. That is how quickly the dynamic of a rivalry can shift. If the other team gets the right quarterback or head coach, you’re in trouble.
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Chicago has put the Packers in this situation for the first time since probably the 1940s. Quarterback Caleb Williams, an uber-talented #1 overall pick, is 3-2 against them in his first two seasons under center. New head coach Ben Johnson fulfilled his pledge to beat LaFleur twice. These two men have no fear of the Green Bay aura. That is because Javon Bullard and his teammates no longer have a Hall of Fame quarterback to erase their mistakes whenever things go sideways. Yet they’re still acting as if everything is status quo.
It most definitely isn’t.
The Packers have looked like a team desperately clinging to the railing of a sinking ship. They’re 2-2 with wins against the 1-3 New York Jets and 0-4 Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They needed a double-digit comeback against the former and beat the latter by 3 despite the Bucs starting an undrafted rookie at quarterback. Worse still, they don’t have Micah Parsons and won’t have Edgerrin Cooper either. It’s hard to understand where Bullard’s confidence comes from. After all, he personally has a losing record against the Bears.
Maybe that confidence will be enough and the Packers take down Chicago this Sunday. It would certainly be a much-needed morale boost. However, this is not the same old Bears team they’ve beaten up on in years past. It is talented, well-coached, and aren’t afraid to punch you in the mouth.
