{"id":41188,"date":"2026-01-07T15:54:15","date_gmt":"2026-01-07T15:54:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=41188"},"modified":"2026-01-07T15:54:15","modified_gmt":"2026-01-07T15:54:15","slug":"the-surprising-truth-about-packers-big-advantage-over-bears","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=41188","title":{"rendered":"The Surprising Truth About Packers\u2019 Big Advantage Over Bears"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/figure>\n

\"Green<\/p>\n

GREEN BAY, Wis. \u2013 The Green Bay Packers are in the playoffs for a third consecutive season with quarterback Jordan Love and the team is making its sixth postseason appearance in seven seasons under coach Matt LaFleur. The Chicago Bears, who the Packers will play in a wild-card game on Saturday night, will be playing their first playoff game during the LaFleur era.<\/p>\n

Advantage, Green Bay.<\/p>\n

Or so says conventional wisdom.<\/p>\n

You know what disagrees with conventional wisdom?<\/p>\n

Math.<\/p>\n

The 53-man Packers roster has played in a combined 104 playoff games. The 53-man Bears roster has played in a combined 105 playoff games.<\/p>\n

Experience is great. As the saying goes, experience is the best teacher. It can bring a sense of calm in difficult situations knowing that you\u2019ve faced and conquered a challenge.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think there\u2019s some value in that,\u201d LaFleur said, \u201cbut, ultimately, it\u2019s about just being able to go out there and kind of channel your emotion and go out and execute. The team that typically can do that the best is probably going to be the team that wins the game.\u201d<\/p>\n

Experience can be overrated.<\/p>\n

In the 2023 playoffs, the Packers played at the Dallas Cowboys in the wild-card round. For Love, it was his first career playoff start. For the Cowboys, it was their third consecutive playoff appearance and Dak Prescott\u2019s seventh career playoff start.<\/p>\n

You know what happened. The Packers took a 48-16 lead in the fourth quarter. Love finished 16-of-21 passing for 272 yards and three touchdowns, his 157.2 passer rating being the highest ever for a visiting quarterback in NFL playoff history. In his first career playoff game, Romeo Doubs torched the Cowboys for six catches for 151 yards.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the experienced Prescott threw two interceptions in the first half, including a pick-six to Darnell Savage.<\/p>\n

So, the Packers can find comfort in experience, but they know they can\u2019t rely on it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think experience is very valuable,\u201d receiver Jayden Reed said, \u201cbut you\u2019ve got to treat every opponent with the same respect because every Sunday\u2019s another Sunday \u2013 or every Saturday\u2019s a new Saturday \u2013 so it\u2019s about who\u2019s going to go out there and execute and play more physical. At the end of the day, that\u2019s who\u2019s going to win.\u201d<\/p>\n

For the Packers, this game will be about preparation and execution. Maybe experience will matter. Maybe it won\u2019t.<\/p>\n

\"Green<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI think experience matters at a point,\u201d safety Xavier McKinney said. \u201cBut I\u2019ve also seen guys with a ton of experience get beat by guys that don\u2019t have a ton of experience. I think it\u2019s all about play style and how you go out there and play and execute.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can have a guy with a whole bunch of experience but if he don\u2019t prepare the right way, that experience don\u2019t mean nothing. It all just depends on the player and it depends on how you go out there and prepare. So, I don\u2019t even want to say experience \u2013 it has something to do with it at a point, for sure, but it just depends on who the player is.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Green Bay, Rashan Gary leads the team with eight games of playoff experience. This offseason, Chicago traded for guard Joe Thuney. He\u2019s played in 22 playoff games, including five Super Bowls.<\/p>\n

The Packers have 35 players with playoff experience. The Bears have 22.<\/p>\n

Does that provide confidence?<\/p>\n

\u201cNah,\u201d McKinney said. \u201cIt ain\u2019t about none of that because, regardless of experience, that don\u2019t mean you can\u2019t get beat. So, I try not to push that message to the guys because I think regardless of experience or not, like, mother****er can still go out there and get beat regardless of if you got hella experience or not. I just don\u2019t think that\u2019s really the right message. I don\u2019t even think about it that way.\u201d<\/p>\n

How about the coaches? Led by LaFleur, who has been the head coach in eight playoff games and on the sideline for 13, Green Bay\u2019s coaches have been a part of 159 playoff games, including 104 in Green Bay.<\/p>\n

This will be Ben Johnson\u2019s playoff debut as Chicago\u2019s coach, but he was part of five playoff games with the Lions.<\/p>\n

Chicago defensive coordinator Dennis Allen has a 19-1 edge over Green Bay defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley, Green Bay offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich has an 8-4 advantage over Chicago offensive coordinator Declain Doyle and Green Bay special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia has a 12-7 lead on his counterpart, Richard Hightower.<\/p>\n

The Bears\u2019 defensive backs coach and defensive pass-game coordinator, former Packers cornerback Al Harris, has coached and played in 23 playoff games.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can try to describe it as much as you can, but until you go through it yourself firsthand, I think that’s the best way to learn,\u201d Johnson said of the one-and-done mentality of the playoffs. \u201cI think we\u2019ve got a lot of veterans that have been here before, so they know what that’s about. They can certainly share those experiences with the younger guys.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut my experience has been that this is where the details and the fundamentals come out to the forefront. As simple as it is, it’s the blocking, it’s the tackling, it’s the proper catching of the football, ball security, taking the ball away. It’s all those little things that show up the most when the lights are the brightest.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ultimately, other than the do-or-die stakes, this is \u201cabsolutely\u201d just another football game, LaFleur said. Maybe experience will calm the nerves as the 7 p.m. Saturday kickoff approaches.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the same thing our guys have been doing all season long,\u201d LaFleur said. \u201cIt\u2019s a tough opponent, on the road, a division rival. There\u2019s obviously going to be a lot of excitement, not only, everywhere, about this game. We\u2019ve just got to go play our type of game.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/h2>\n
<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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