“Been in a Bunch of Rival Games”: Caleb Williams Compares Bears-Packers Wild-Card Game to a CFB Clash

The Green Bay Packers and the Chicago Bears will renew their rivalry for a third time this season when they square off in the Wild-Card round of the NFL playoffs. And if it’s anything like their two games in December, then it has the potential to become the biggest rivalry game in recent memory.

The Packers and the Bears have played four times since November 2024. And all four of them proved to be one-possession games. Throw in the fact that they’ve also split those last four games right down the middle, and we can say for sure that this one will be as competitive as it gets.

However, if you ask about the pressure that such a game entails, the Bears’ starting quarterback, Caleb Williams, doesn’t seem too worried about it. “I treat them all the same, all the big games are the same to me,” Williams told the media ahead of what will be the first postseason game of his career and Chicago’s first since 2020.

“The mindset of it changes a little bit, because you know you don’t have another game if you go out there and you don’t accomplish the goal. Been in a bunch of rival games,” Caleb added, comparing the Wild-Card game to College Football playoff games.

Citing his experience in big games during his high school and college careers, Williams suggested that the situation is nothing new to him, only that the lights are a little bit brighter.  Williams insisted that he hasn’t been nervous before a game since he took on Gilman High School, and that’s all because of “the trust” that he has in himself.

His self-belief may border on the line of “arrogance” at times, Williams admitted, but it has also helped to make him a number one overall draft pick and a Heisman trophy winner. So he likes his odds. Unfortunately, the actual oddsmakers out in Las Vegas don’t seem to be feeling Williams’ vibe.

Despite the fact that they’ll be hosting their first home playoff game since 2018, the Bears are being booked as the underdogs for Saturday night’s contest. The Packers are being listed as a short-1.5 point favorite even though they lost to Chicago in an overtime classic just a few weeks ago. But with their star quarterback, Jordan Love, now returning from his concussion, the sportsbooks appear to like their chances a bit more this time around.

Apart from the Bears’ recent success in 2025, the Packers have owned this head-to-head matchup for the better part of the last two decades. Nevertheless, this is Chicago’s opportunity to step out of that little brother role that Aaron Rodgers had held them in for so many years. So don’t expect anything less than an absolute showing from the Bears this weekend.