The Green Bay Packers did more than get back above .500 Sunday. They also settled a score that had been sitting with them since January.
Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer reported Monday that Green Bay’s 31-7 demolition of the Chicago Bears carried a little extra weight inside the organization after the way last season ended.
“I can confirm that, yes, the Packers’ blowout win meant a little more for the guys in the building,” Breer wrote.
That wasn’t the only takeaway from one of Green Bay’s most complete performances of the season. Breer also pointed to the emergence of several young Packers at the same time Micah Parsons is nearing a return from his torn ACL.
Packers’ Bears Win ‘Meant a Little More’
Green Bay had plenty of reason to remember its last meeting with Chicago.
The Bears ended the Packers’ 2025 season with a 31-27 wild-card comeback at Soldier Field after Green Bay led 21-3 at halftime. Chicago scored 25 fourth-quarter points, turning what looked like a comfortable Packers win into an abrupt end to their season.
Sunday looked nothing like that collapse.
Green Bay jumped ahead early and never let Chicago back into the game. Jordan Love finished 25-of-31 for 367 yards, two touchdowns and a 137.5 passer rating.
Breer said the revenge element mattered, but what happened around Love may have mattered more.
“The main thing, really, is that the Packers’ best young players are breaking through, and just as their best player, Micah Parsons, is gearing up to return to the lineup from a torn ACL,” Breer wrote.
Christian Watson and Matthew Golden combined for 12 catches, 266 yards and two touchdowns, with both scores coming from Watson. Golden finished with 123 yards, while Watson had 143.
Tucker Kraft, who is back from his own ACL tear, added five catches for 64 yards.
Packers Young Core Breaks Through Before Micah Parsons Return
The production wasn’t limited to Green Bay’s offense.
Devonte Wyatt recorded two sacks, rookie Dani Dennis-Sutton added another and Lukas Van Ness finished with two quarterback hits. Evan Williams led the Packers with 12 tackles, while Xavier McKinney intercepted a pass early to help Green Bay build a 14-0 advantage.
The timing stands out because Parsons could soon rejoin that group.
Parsons has been working back from the torn ACL he suffered late last season. Packers.com’s Mike Spofford reported in August that Parsons viewed a Week 6 return against his former team, the Dallas Cowboys, as “very realistic,” although the Packers have not guaranteed that timeline.
Green Bay managed to reach 3-2 without him and now sits even with Chicago and Detroit in the NFC North.
Love told Breer the Packers never lost confidence during an opening month disrupted by injuries and lineup changes.
“Nobody lost confidence. We knew we just weren’t playing good. We weren’t playing up to our standard, and there was a lot of stuff that we needed to clean up,” Love said. “I think a win like this and what we did today, it gives everybody confidence and just reignites the belief in what we were capable of as an offense.”
That’s what made Sunday’s result bigger than simple rivalry revenge.
Green Bay finally got the type of complete performance it had been searching for, several of its young players delivered at once and the most disruptive player on the roster may be getting close to returning.
The Bears gave the Packers a painful offseason in January.
This time, Green Bay made sure the feeling went the other way.
Packers’ Blowout of Bears ‘Meant a Little More’ Behind Scenes: Report