Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams is sacked by Packers linebacker Edgerrin Cooper on Jan. 5 in Green Bay, Wis. (AP file photo)

GREEN BAY, Wis. — The NFC North leaders are eager to show they’re not the same old Chicago Bears who continually took their lumps against the Green Bay Packers over the last 15 years or so.

Chicago snapped an 11-game skid in this rivalry when it ended the 2024 regular season by winning at Green Bay. The Bears (9-3) have built on that momentum this year as they have the NFC’s best record and carry a five-game winning streak into their Sunday matchup with the Packers (8-3-1) at Lambeau Field.

“I think throughout this whole year, what we’ve been able to accomplish has given us extreme confidence,” Bears quarterback Caleb Williams said. “And then, for myself, being a part of something that, everybody knows the stats of the Bears going up there before last year, it wasn’t the best. And so being able to be a part of that (win), being able to contribute to that, provides confidence for myself, and I’m going to exude that to the other guys.”

Chicago hasn’t had a winning season since 2018, but the Bears’ emergence doesn’t surprise Packers safety Xavier McKinney.

McKinney was impressed with the creativity new Bears coach Ben Johnson showed as Detroit’s offensive coordinator when the Lions swept the Packers last season.

“I knew they were going to be good,” McKinney said. “Especially whenever they ended up getting Ben Johnson, I was, ‘OK, they’re going to be a problem this year.'”

The Packers also are feeling good about themselves. They’ve won three straight and are eager to regain control of this rivalry.

These two teams will face each other twice in a span of 14 days in a pair of games that will go a long way toward determining the NFC North champion. They meet again Dec. 20 at Chicago.

Frantic finish?

The two matchups between the Packers and Bears last season both were decided by field-goal attempts on the final play.

Chicago’s Cairo Santos made a 51-yarder in the Bears’ 24-22 victory at Green Bay after having a 46-yarder blocked by Karl Brooks to end the Packers’ 20-19 triumph at Chicago.

Turnover feast

Chicago has an NFL-leading plus-17 turnover margin. The Bears have 26 takeaways, four more than any other team.

Packers coach Matt LaFleur credits the arrival of former New Orleans Saints coach Dennis Allen as Chicago’s defensive coordinator.

“He does such a great job getting that out of his guys, but I also think it’s a credit to his players in regards to just, they’ve got tremendous ball skills, really, on every level of the defense,” LaFleur said.

Chicago might have a tougher time taking the ball away from Green Bay, which hasn’t committed a single turnover during its three-game win streak.

Surging Parsons

Green Bay’s Micah Parsons has six sacks in his last three games to improve his season total to 12½. He’s the first player to have at least 12 in each of his first five NFL seasons since the statistic started getting tracked in 1982.

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AP Sports Writer Andrew Seligman contributed to this report.

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