First place in the NFC North was on the line both times the Bears faced the Packers in December. But even more will be at stake when the longtime rivals collide again Saturday night in a wild card showdown at Soldier Field.

The winner of the highly anticipated third matchup in six weeks will advance to the NFC Divisional Round, while the loser will go home. The Bears (11-6) are the No. 2 seed in the playoffs after capturing the NFC North title, while the Packers (9-7-1) are the No. 7 seed as the third and final wild card.

The rivalry between the two teams seemingly is as evenly matched as ever. The Bears and Packers have split their season series in back-to-back years for the first time since 1999-2000, with each club totaling 86 points in the four games. Three of those contests were decided on the final play, with the outcome of the fourth determined with just :22 left in the fourth quarter.

Saturday night's game will be the 213rd all-time meeting between the Bears and Packers, the most involving two teams in NFL history. And although the series began in 1921, this will be only the third postseason matchup. In 1941, the Bears won 33-14 in a game at Wrigley Field that decided the NFL Western Division championship after both clubs had finished the season with 10-1 records. The Packers then recorded a 21-14 victory in the 2010 NFC Championship Game at Soldier Field.

Neither team finished the regular season as well as it would have liked. The Bears dropped their final two contests to the 49ers and Lions, while the Packers closed with four straight losses to the Broncos, Bears, Ravens and Vikings.

When the Bears have the ball

Caleb Williams quarterbacks a Bears offense that concluded the regular season ranked in the top 10 in the NFL in points (9th at 25.9) and total yards (6th at 369.2) per game after finishing in the bottom five in both categories last year.

Williams threw for a Bears' single-season-record 3,942 yards with 27 touchdowns, seven interceptions and a 90.1 passer rating. He also rushed for 388 yards and 3 TDs and reduced the number of sacks he has taken from 68 last year to 24 this season.

The former USC standout threw two touchdown passes in each of the Bears' final five games, totaling 10 TDs and two interceptions. His 1.2 career interception percentage is the lowest in NFL history among passers with at least 1,000 attempts.

Williams has been at his best late in games, rallying the Bears to six wins this season after they trailed in the final 2:00, the most by an NFL team since at least 1970.

The Bears' ground game is powered by running backs D'Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai, the only NFL teammates that both rushed for at least 750 yards this season. Swift set career highs with 1,087 rushing yards and 1,386 yards from scrimmage.

According to offensive coordinator Declan Doyle, the key to running the ball effectively against the Packers Saturday night will be to "go back to the fundamentals that we've been preaching since we got here."

"That's not a sexy answer and yet that really is what it is," Doyle said. "It's our ability to come off the ball, all in unison, be communicating, our backs on their tracks, our perimeter players being willing to strike. It gives you confidence going into a game like this, especially playing a defense for the third time in six weeks. But we certainly feel comfortable with our run game and want to be able to utilize that as a strength."

The expected return of receiver Rome Odunze after missing five games with a foot injury should provide a boost for the offense. In the first 12 games this season, he had 44 receptions for 661 yards and six touchdowns. The ninth overall pick in the 2024 draft from Washington is also an adept downfield blocker.

Other key weapons in the pass game include receivers DJ Moore (50 receptions for 682 yards and 6 TDs) and Luther Burden III (47-652-2) and tight ends Colston Loveland (58-713-6) Cole Kmet (30-347-2).

One of the Bears' primary objectives Saturday night will be to get off to a fast start. They were held scoreless in the first half in each of their last two home games versus the Packers and Lions and scored only three points in the first half in their first meeting with Green Bay Dec. 7 at Lambeau Field.

"We definitely need to start fast, and that's been the message for the last couple weeks now," Swift said. "I don't feel like we've done that at all, but we know we can't waste any opportunities Saturday."

Green Bay counters with a defense that ranks 11th in the NFL in points allowed (21.2) and 12th in total yards (311.8), 18th against the run (117.7) and 11th versus the pass (194.1).

After star defensive end Micah Parsons tore his ACL in Week 15, however, the Packers went 0-4 and their defense allowed the most rushing yards (170.8 per game) and recorded the fewest sacks (3) in the league. Parsons led Green Bay with 12.5 sacks and 26 quarterback hits and had eight pressures Dec. 7 versus the Bears.

"Losing a player of that caliber, things have to change just a little bit," Doyle said. "You've seen some tweaks schematically. Early on they were really trying to put you in these one-on-one situations where they could get Micah isolated. They have shifted slightly, and yet the rest of the unit is a really good unit.

"They're good on the back end. The front is very talented, certainly, and the 'backers fly around. We certainly feel like they're a worthy adversary. Our hands are full, and yet we feel like we can go out and attack this defense."

Key matchup: Bears receiver DJ Moore vs. Packers cornerback Keisean Nixon

After Nixon sealed Green Bay's 28-21 win over the Bears with a late interception Dec. 7 at Lambeau Field, Moore beat Nixon on a 46-yard walk-off TD in overtime 13 days later at Soldier Field.

When the Packers have the ball

Quarterback Jordan Love returns to action for the first time since exiting the Dec. 20 game against the Bears at Soldier Field with a concussion. This season, he established career highs in completion percentage (66.3), touchdown-to-interception ratio (23-6) and passer rating (101.2), which ranked fifth in the NFL.

Love has won four of six career starts against the Bears, completing 69.0 percent of his passes with nine TDs, two interceptions and a 116.6 passer rating.

"We know Jordan Love can extend plays," said cornerback Jaylon Johnson. "They have a lot of explosives when Jordan Love extends plays and throws the football down the field, so really rush and cover has got to play together the whole game."

In the first Bears-Packers game this year, Love threw TD passes of 45, 41 and 23 yards. In the second meeting, the Bears took away the deep ball, forcing Green Bay to march down the field more methodically. The Packers did that but were held out of the end zone on all five of their red-zone possessions.

Green Bay's offense ranked second in the NFL this year behind the 49ers in both third-down conversions (100) and third-down conversation rate (48.8%). In their two games versus the Bears, the Packers converted 8-of-12 (66.7%) and 6-of-12 (50.0%) third-down opportunities.

"They've got good skill players that are tough matchups," said defensive coordinator Dennis Allen. "And the quarterback does a really good job getting the ball out and getting it to the right people. He sees the field really well and understands the coverage and knows where to go with the ball, and he throws the ball with timing and accuracy. I think that's why they're a good third-down team."

The Bears defense led the NFL with 33 takeaways and 23 interceptions this season but ranked 23rd in points allowed per game (24.4) and 29th in total yards (361.8). The unit produced at least one takeaway in its final 10 contests, the longest streak by any NFL team to close the 2025 campaign.

For both teams, turnovers played a significant role in determining the outcome of games. The Bears went 9-0 when generating multiple takeaways and 2-6 with one or none, while the Packers were 0-4 when committing multiple turnovers, 2-2-1 with one and 7-1 with none.

Safety Kevin Byard III led the NFL with seven interceptions and cornerback Nahshon Wright topped the league with eight takeaways, tying for first with three fumble recoveries and tying for second with five interceptions.

The Bears will face a Packers offense that features running back Josh Jacobs, who rushed for 929 yards and 13 TDs; and a trio of talented receivers: Romeo Doubs led Green Bay with a career-high 724 yards; Christian Watson topped the Packers with 35 receptions for 611 yards and six TDs after making his season debut in Week 8; and Jayden Reed, who returned to action Dec. 7 against the Bears for the first time since breaking his collarbone in Week 2.

Key matchup: Bears defensive end Montez Sweat vs. Packers right tackle Zach Tom

Sweat led the Bears in sacks with 10.0, reaching double digits for the second time in his career. He spearheads a pass rush that will be looking to affect Love more than it did in the first meeting between the teams when Sweat's sack was the Bears' only quarterback hit. Tom hasn't played since injuring his knee Dec. 14 in Denver, but Green Bay is hopeful that he'll be able to start. He was limited in practice this week and is listed as questionable on the injury report.

Fun facts

• The Bears were the only NFL team this season to rank in the top five in rushing and the top 10 in passing. They were also just the league's fourth team in the last 20 years to finish in the top three in rushing yards and the top three in fewest sacks allowed.

• Swift and Monangai became just the second pair of Bears running backs to each rush for at least 750 yards in a season, joining Hall of Famer Walter Payton and fullback Roland Harper in 1978.

• The Bears became the first NFL team in the Super Bowl era to have three rookies all compile at least 650 yards from scrimmage in Monangai, Loveland and Burden.

• Williams threw seven TD passes and had a 132.1 passer rating on third down when trailing in 2025, tops in the NFL in both categories.

• The Bears will face the same opponent for the third time in six weeks for the first time in franchise history. The previous time it happened in the NFL was 2012 when the Packers and Vikings played in Weeks 13 and 17 and then met in a wild card playoff game.