The Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers are squared off for the 207th time to begin their 2023-24 seasons on Sunday, Sept. 10. And while the new season and new faces in starring roles may have given Bears fans hope that they'd be able to flip the recent trends in the rivalry, the Packers put them in their place. The Packers extended their lead in the all-time series to 106-95-6. However, their dominance is a more recent phenomenon. The Packers had two generational quarterbacks spanning the last 30 years. During that time, they flipped the script on the previously dominant Bears to take the lead in the all-time series. But it's the Jordan Love era now, maybe it's the Bears' time to shine? Aaron Rodgers is gone, so they had to feel better about this game. But none of that mattered, as Justin Fields and Co. had no answer to the Packers in the second half. The Packers won 38-20.

Recent history did not favor the Bears for this game. They've lost the last nine matchups with the Packers now and have only won three games against Green Bay since 2010. Ouch. So what happened five seasons ago, back in 2018? Back when the Bears last beat the Packers?

The last time the Bears beat the Packers

The year is 2018. The day is Dec. 16. The location: Soldier Field. The Bears and Packers come into this matchup on wildly different trajectories. As has been the norm for the last two and a half decades, the Packers won the first matchup between the two teams back in Week 1 24-23 after a 21-point fourth quarter saw them claw back from a 20-3 deficit. But since then, the teams have had opposite trajectories.

The Bears stormed their way to a 10-4 record entering this game, riding a hot streak and winning six of their last seven games. Second-year quarterback Mitchell Trubisky is amid a Pro Bowl season alongside running back Tarik Cohen. Matt Nagy has the Bears rolling. The Packers, meanwhile, are in turmoil. They were collapsing after a 3-2-1 start to their season, going 1-5 after their bye week before firing Mike McCarthy. Offensive Coordinator Joe Philbin has stepped in and led the Packers to a win over the Atlanta Falcons, but 5-8-1 is not where they hoped to be in Week 15.

And amazingly, both teams continued their form into this matchup. The Bears handled business against the lowly Packers, winning 24-17 in a less close game than the scoreline indicates. While both teams entered the fourth quarter tied at 14, the Bears would build a 24-14 lead during roughly the first half of the quarter, and the Packers would only close it to seven with less than a dozen seconds remaining in the game.

Trubisky would outduel Rodgers, with the former going 20-28 for 235 yards and two touchdowns. Rodgers would post an inefficient 25-42 for 274 yards, no touchdowns, and one interception. As was often the case in 2018, Davante Adams did the heavy lifting for Green Bay. Adams had 119 receiving yards. Meanwhile, nearly every other skill position for the Packers was kept in check.

What came next

The Bears would finish the season 12-4 and first in the NFC North. The Packers finished 6-9-1. The Bears lost in the Wild Card round to the Philadelphia Eagles on the infamous Double Doink moment, while the Packers would rebound and earn back-to-back trips to the conference finals in 2019 and 2020. However, neither team would get over the hump, leading the coaching staff and leading players from this game on both sides to be sent elsewhere. Very few players remain from this game. And both teams are ready to enter new eras. Will the Bears take back control of this legendary rivalry? Will the Packers maintain dominance over “little brother?” How will the latest versions of these teams look? We'll have to find out this Sunday.