NFC North games are always more relevant. After all, tie-breakers inside the division and conference are more impactful in the standings. For Matt LaFleur, the Green Bay Packers' game against the Chicago Bears on Sunday is particularly significant.
Since LaFleur took over as the Packers head coach in 2019, Green Bay has a perfect record against their rivals. It's 10 wins in 10 games.
"These games always mean a little bit more, whether you're playing Minnesota, Detroit, or Chicago," LaFleur said in his bi-weekly podcast. "And then, obviously, just these are games that we want to stay perfect against the Bears. Another good challenge."
Bears' changes
The podcast was recorded after Bears head coach Matt Eberflus had announced there would be changes on the offensive coaching staff. He addressed the topic, even though the confirmation that Shane Waldron had been fired and would be replaced by Thomas Brown would only come after that.
"I mean, there could be some unscouted looks, some of the tendencies could go out the window. But I think it is hard to deviate too much from the system that you already have in place," LaFleur pointed out. "It's the National Football League, and I think there's great examples every week, it really doesn't matter who you play. The majority of these games are going to go down to the final drive."
The Chicago Bears are 4-5 in the season, coming from three consecutive losses. But LaFleur doesn't expect an easy game.
"You better prepare and play your A-game no matter who you're playing, where you're playing, when you're playing, because at the end of the day, they still have a lot of talent on that roster," LaFleur added. "It's really one bad game, an outlier game, because up to that point they were 4-0 at home. So we gotta get ready to play our best game this coming Sunday."
The Bears' schedule this season is weird. As LaFleur mentioned, the team is now 3-1 in home games. And now they play a sequence of three home games — New England Patriots last week, and the next two games, against the Packers and the Vikings. After that, they have three consecutive road games (Detroit Lions, San Francisco 49ers, Minnesota Vikings). This will be the Bears' first divisional game of the season, which means six of their last eight games will be against NFC North opponents.
Packers-Bears games with Matt LaFleur as a HC:
- 2019: Packers 10-3 Bears
- 2019: Packers 21-13 Bears
- 2020: Packers 41-25 Bears
- 2020: Packers 35-16 Bears
- 2021: Packers 24-14 Bears
- 2021: Packers 45-30 Bears
- 2022: Packers 27-10 Bears
- 2022: Packers 28-19 Bears
- 2023: Packers 38-20 Bears
- 2023: Packers 17-9 Bears
