The Green Bay Packers kick off the 2018 season this Sunday night at Lambeau Field, hosting the Chicago Bears.

This pairing seems no accident.  The Packers are celebrating their 100th season as a franchise and it's only fitting that they start off against the Bears, their oldest opponent.

Hardly a "rivalry" in the true meaning of the word but this is still one of the oldest head-to-head match ups in the NFL.  

The Past

Having entered last season with the all-time series tied for the first time in decades, Green Bay took the lead with a season sweep and now lead 96-94-6.  

The Packers have won eight of the last nine games and 14 of the last 16.  Can you say "dominance"? 

Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers has only lost to the Bears twice in 18 meetings when starting and finishing a game.  He picked up right where his predecessor Brett Favre left off in his ownership of the Bears.

The latest meeting came in Chicago late in the 2017 season with back up quarterback Brett Hundley leading the way to victory.  (Incidentally, that also may have been the first time in a very long time that the Chicago newspaper used a Packers quarterback's actual name in an article).

The last time the Bears bested the Pack was Thanksgiving night in 2015, nearly three years ago.  

The Present

Just a week ago, the storyline surrounding this game was about the history of the match up and the Packers 100th season.  Then came Saturday morning.

After reports that the Oakland Raiders were seriously shopping linebacker/defensive end Khalil Mack, many Packers fans expected to wake up and learn that he was joining their side.  It was to be the absolute icing on the cake that has been General Manager Brian Gutekunst's first offseason in his new role.

Instead, Mack was a Bear and we all had to quickly process that he not only wasn't joining the Packers but that Green Bay would instead face him twice a year.  And for the first time in a Bears uniform, this Sunday night.

Having held out until now, Mack surely isn't in prime football shape.  He'll play but isn't expected to give the optimal number of snaps that he will once ramped up.  This means the Packers, specifically offensive tackles David Bakhtiari and Bryan Bulaga, won't be dealing with full work load when it comes to the former Defensive Player of the Year.

The addition of Mack, put a stamp on Chicago's dominance of the Packers this offseason, in terms of player acquisition.  Cornerback Kyle Fuller was signed to an offer sheet by the Packers and quickly matched by the Bears.  Wide receiver Allen Robinson was considering whether to join the Packers or the Bears and chose Chicago.

Fuller will now be tasked with covering Packers receiver Davante Adams, one of the game's up-and-coming talents.  On the flip side, the Packers have two rookie cornerbacks who will be helping to blanket Robinson and new tight end Trey Burton.  You may recognize Burton's name from this past Super Bowl when he threw a touchdown pass to quarterback Nick Foles to help the Philadelphia Eagles to their first Lombardi Trophy.

Chicago now has one of the better defensive fronts in the league with the addition of Mack to outside linebacker Leonard Floyd, defensive lineman Akiem Hicks and rookie first-round linebacker Roquan Smith.  Hicks was quick to assess how well he thinks the Packers offensive line will fare against his new teammate Mack.  On a conference call earlier this week, Hicks said "I know those five guys can't block Khalil Mack".

Beyond giving the Packers O-Line some bulletin board material, he must have forgotten about the Packers quarterback as well.  Aaron Rodgers returns for his 14th season as motivated as ever.  He'll be flanked by Jamaal Williams at running back, Adams as his key outside receiver and new tight end Jimmy Graham.  Congratulations, Bears, you're the first on the "I'm back - Road to the MVP" tour. 

On the other side of the quarterback equation is second-year man Mitchell Trubisky.  He'll be expected to carry his share of the load and improve over his rookie season last year.  By many accounts, Trubisky had a good offseason and was saying all of the right things.  He played very sparingly in preseason action so Sunday night will begin to showcase any his growth over last year.

The Future

There may be many changes in this match up and on both teams, but it's still a home game for the Packers with Rodgers at quarterback.  The expected result shouldn't be a secret.

Williams tops the running back depth charge with Aaron Jones serving a two-game suspension.  Geronimo Allison makes his debut as a starting outside receiver.  And we'll see tight end Marcedes Lewis in action on the line, hopefully mauling Bears rushers.

The rookie cornerbacks, Jaire Alexander and Josh Jackson finally get some meaningful time and Kevin King returns to action.  They had an active preseason in getting after the ball and a fast start gives the Packers defense a huge boost.

The Bears will look to get the run game going, despite facing a formidable front of Mike Daniels, Kenny Clark and Muhammad Wilkerson in the base defense.  Chicago running backs Jordan Howard and Tarik Cohen will be looking to get to the edge and test the vertical speed of Green Bay's linebackers.  We'll get an early look at what Clay Matthews and Nick Perry have left to give.

It may be closer than expected, but the Packers should come out of this game 1-0 and ready to take on another division rival in the Minnesota Vikings in week two.