GREEN BAY – The NFL will find out if Matt LaFleur and Ben Johnson remember to get each other a Christmas gift this year.
The league is scheduling the Green Bay Packers’ return to the Chicago Bears for Christmas Day this season, according to multiple reports. After the NFL’s oldest rivalry renewed last season with Johnson openly taking shots at LaFleur, the two coaches will take center stage on the biggest day of the NFL regular season. Kickoff is scheduled for noon.
It’s the Packers’ second holiday road trip. They will also travel to the Los Angeles Rams on Thanksgiving Eve. Both holiday games will be streamed exclusively on Netflix.
The Packers lost both their trips to Chicago last season despite having commanding fourth-quarter leads in both. Their collapses not only prevented an NFC North title, but ended their postseason in an NFC wild-card game at Soldier Field.
Though the Packers have never played in Chicago on Christmas, they’re no stranger to the holiday. The Packers are 3-1 in four previous Christmas Day games, twice playing the Bears at Lambeau Field. They lost 24-17 to the Bears on Christmas in 2005 and won 35-21 during the 2011 season. The Packers also won on Christmas Day against the Cleveland Browns in 2021 and at the Miami Dolphins in 2022.
After three seasons without a Christmas Day game, the Packers are back on the holiday schedule.
This article originally appeared on Packers News: Packers to play Bears in Chicago on Christmas Day
Reporting by Ryan Wood, Green Bay Press-Gazette / Packers News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
