Greatest Sports Rivalries: Bears-Packers Quiz

Answer: 3

The Packers first played in the NFL in the 1921 season. On 25 September 1921, the Packers defeated the Chicago Boosters 13-6 in their first NFL game. Two weeks later, the Packers then defeated the Chicago Cornell-Hamburgs 40-0. On 20 November 1921 they then tied 3-3 with the Chicago Cardinals. A week later they lost to the Bears.

Answer: Tillie Voss and Frank Hanny

The game, and the event, took place on 23 November 1924 at Wrigley Field, the former home stadium of the Bears. The ejections occurred as a result of verbal altercations between Voss and Hanny that eventually led to punches being thrown between the two men. The Bears won the game 3-0.

Answer: New York Giants

The Bears and Packers were forced into a one-off decider after both teams ended the season 10-1, with both teams having been responsible for each other's only loss. On 14 December, the Bears defeated the Packers 33-14 to win the Western Division. The Bears advanced to face the Giants, who had won the Eastern Division with an 8-3 record.

The Bears won 37-9 to win a fourth NFL championship.

Answer: Bears 52, Packers 31

The game took place in Chicago in November 1955. At one point, the Bears led by a whooping 45-3, but the Packers were able to score 28 points in the fourth quarter. This became the highest scoring game between the two franchises.
As an interesting side note, this was the last game that legendary Bears coach George Halas coached for against the Packers until 1958 after he took a break from coaching.

Answer: Free Kick Game

The game is remembered as such because the Packers utilised the often ignored "fair catch kick rule" whereby a team can attempt a drop kick field goal attempt from the spot of a fair catch. In this instance, Elijah Pitts caught a punt at the Bears' 48 yard line, just before the end of the first half. Packers head coach Vince Lombardi's decision to attempt the kick was surprising even to the players, as neither team had even practised free kicks.

Quarterback Bart Starr held the ball for running back Paul Hornung. Hornung attempted a 52-yard field goal, and incredibly the risky decision worked. The Packers fans were stunned by what they had witnessed. The Packers won 23-12.

Answer: Neill Armstrong

After a game in December 1980, in which the Bears dismantled the Packers 61-7, Starr charged across the field to confront Armstrong, who was Bears head coach between 1978 and 1981. Starr was angry because Bears defensive co-ordinator Buddy Ryan was still calling blitz plays while the Bears led by 40+ points and the Packers had already replaced their starting quarterback with backup David Whitehurst.

Answer: 1985

Perry was drafted by the Bears in the 1985 NFL Draft and his first appearance against Chicago's biggest rival was a legendary one. Despite being naturally found on the D-line, Perry was used on the offensive line to help create two touchdown runs for Bears running back Walter Payton.

The performance was completed in the second quarter when Perry had a touchdown run of his own. The Bears won 23-7 and a cult hero in Perry was born.

Answer: Illegal forward pass

In a game that has since been referred to as the "Instant Replay Game", Packers quarterback Don Majkowski threw what appeared to be a touchdown pass to Stirling Sharpe. However, line judge Jim Quirk called a penalty on Majkowski for moving beyond the line of scrimmage when he had thrown the pass.

The call went to instant replay and many minutes later, the instant replay declared that it was a touchdown. It was the first time the Packers had defeated the Bears since 1984 and it led to a change in what was deemed an illegal forward pass. While the call used to be judged on the position of the ball when the ball was played, the rule was adapted to be judged on where the passer is when the ball is played.

Answer: Robert Brooks

The game took place on Monday Night Football on 11 September 1995. Favre originally pump faked a quick post to Brooks, with Brooks eventually getting wide open. Favre threw to Brooks, who caught the ball at Green Bay's 32 and remained untouched for the other 68 yards. The 99-yard play gave Green Bay a 21-0 lead, with the Pack eventually winning by a 27-24 scoreline.

Answer: Bryan Robinson

The Packers had won ten straight games against the Bears between the 1994 and 1998 seasons, but the Bears finally broke their run on 7 November 1999 when they defeated the Packers by a 14-13 scoreline. The Packers had an opportunity to win the game with a field goal, but Robinson's block ensured a first win for the Bears over their historic rival since 1993.
As an interesting side note, this game also saw Brett Favre break Ron Jaworski's record for most consecutive starts by a quarterback (it was Brett's 117th consecutive start).

Answer: 2006

On the opening weekend of the 2006 season, the Bears rolled into Lambeau Field and thrashed the Packers 26-0, in a game that included a 49-yard touchdown pass from Rex Grossman to Bernard Berrian. The game also had the first punt return for a touchdown in Devin Hester's legendary career.

The Packers failed to make the playoffs that year, one of only five occasions in Favre's 16-year Packers career. The Bears made it to that year's Super Bowl, losing to Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts.

Answer: Heaviest player to score a touchdown in NFL history

With the score at 14-7 in the fourth quarter, Bears backup Caleb Hanie threw a pass that was intercepted by B.J Raji. The 338 pound Raji returned it for a score, becoming the heaviest player in NFL history to score a touchdown. Both Hanie and Packers QB Aaron Rodgers threw for over 150 yards, with Hanie throwing for 153 and Rodgers accumulating 244 yards over the course of the game.

The Packers had three successful extra points off the back of three touchdowns. They won the game 21-14 and won their fourth Super Bowl two weeks later, defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers 31-25. The Packers would make the playoffs every year until 2017. The Bears would not return to the postseason until 2018.

Answer: Champaign

The franchise's first home was Staley field in Decatur, Illinois, while the team was still called the Decatur Staleys. However, by the time the Bears faced the Packers for the first time in 1921, the Bears were already playing at Wrigley Field in Chicago, where they remained until 1970.

In 1971, the team moved to Soldier Field, where it has remained since. The only exception to this was during the 2002 season when the team was forced to temporarily move during the stadium's renovation. The Bears spent the 2002 season at Memorial Stadium, located in Champaign, Illinois.

Answer: Divisional titles

Between 1920 and 2018, the Bears won a total of 19 divisional titles, sealing its 19th during the 2018 season. The Packers trailed only by one, winning a total of 18 divisional titles in their history. Since wildcards were introduced to the NFL playoff picture in 1978, the Bears have had just four Wild card berths while the Packers have had seven.

The Packers have made more playoff appearances in total, with 32 postseason appearances compared to just 27 for the Bears. Following the Packers' 2019 Week 1 victory over the Bears, the Packers had an all-time record of 776-590-37, a win percentage of 55.3%. In comparison, the Bears had a 778-602-42 record, a percentage of 54.7%.

Answer: 14

Bob Jeter was the first to do it, playing eight years with the Bears between 1963 and 1970 before joining the Packers between 1971 and 1973. Steve McMichael was the second, leaving the Bears after 13 years in 1993 to sign with the Pack. Mike Tomczak spent between 1985 and 1990 on the Bears before spending a single year with Green Bay in 1991. Super Bowl winning quarterback Jim McMahon followed suit, playing in Chicago between 1982 and 1988 and spending both the 1995 and 1996 seasons with the Pack. Running back Edgar Bennett spent the 1998 and 1999 seasons with the Packers after spending five years in Chicago between 1992 and 1996.

After seven years with the Bears between 1994 and 2000, Jim Flanigan spent a single year with the Packers in 2001. Defensive end John Thierry spent between 1994 and 1998 with the Bears and between 2000 and 2001 with the Packers. Rob Davis, who spent over a decade with the Pack between 1997 and 2007, had previously played for the Bears in 1996. Cedric Benson had short spells with both teams, between 2005-07 for Chicago and the 2012 campaign for the Packers.

Julius Peppers joined the Bears in 2010, remaining until after the 2013 season when he joined the Packers, where he stayed until 2016. Martellus Bennett had a short spell in Green Bay in 2017 after a three year spell in Chicago between 2013 and 2015. Offensive guard Josh Sitton had an eight-year spell for the Packers, leaving in 2015 and joining Chicago until 2017. Safeties Ha Ha Clinton-Dix and Adrian Amos essentially swapped positions between the 2018 and 2019 seasons, with Clinton-Dix joining the Bears and Amos joining the Packers. Clinton-Dix's career started in Green Bay while Amos' started in Chicago.