Report: Packers, Bears officially expected to kick off NFL's 100th season

-- Earlier in the offseason, it was rumored that the opening Thursday night contest of the NFL's 100th season would be the Green Bay Packers against the Chicago Bears, with the Bears playing host.

But sometime this week, Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune expects a formal announcement to officially take place.

Shortly following, it was finalized by the league that the season-opener is set in stone.

Owners, general managers and coaches alike are currently in Arizona for the 2019 NFL Annual Meeting, including Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst.

This would be the third time in five seasons that the Packers have opened their regular season against the Bears, doing so in 2015 and 2018. They won both games.

While the NFL celebrates hitting its century mark, the Bears are celebrating their 100th season in 2019 as well. The Packers are coming off of their 100th season celebration last year, failing to reach the playoffs and culminating with a 6-9-1 record.

The Packers and Bears are the league's longest-running rivalry, with the impending Thursday night meeting being the 199th in its history. Typically, the defending Super Bowl champion would host an opposing team for the first regular-season game of the year. However, this will mark the first time since 2004 that the league is straying from its customary tradition.

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Zachary Jacobson is a staff writer/reporter for Cheesehead TV. He's the voice of The Leap on iTunes and can be heard on The Scoop KLGR 1490 AM every Saturday morning. He's also a contributor on the Pack-A-Day Podcast. He can be found on Twitter via @ZachAJacobson or contacted through email at [email protected].

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Comments (38)

Fan-Friendly This filter will hide comments which have ratio of 5 to 1 down-vote to up-vote.
packerdoug's picture

March 25, 2019 at 02:37 pm

Go Pack Go! Cannot wait ...beat dem bears!

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Bearmeat's picture

March 25, 2019 at 03:00 pm

LOVE IT! Let's hunt some Bear!

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albert999's picture

March 25, 2019 at 03:21 pm

BRING ON THE TEDDY BEARS

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Jonathan Spader's picture

March 25, 2019 at 03:54 pm

Can't wait to compare Amos vs HHCD. Mack vs. the Smiths. To see how the Bears defense looks without Fangio calling the shots. The new MLF offense. To see if Turdbisket stays mediocre or if he finally takes a leap. I fully expect the Packers to win their 3rd Bear opener in a row!

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jeremyjjbrown's picture

March 25, 2019 at 04:20 pm

The Bears still suck.

7 points
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EddieLeeIvory's picture

March 25, 2019 at 04:55 pm

The only 2 teams in this division to ever win a Super Bowl.

No losers Viqueens & Kittens.

Packers =4
Bears =1

Losers =0 combined

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Wiscokid's picture

March 25, 2019 at 09:08 pm

Not to mention that the Super Bowl trophy is named for Packer coach Vince Lombardi. The NFC championship trophy is named for Bears coach George Halas.

NFL Trophies named after Minnesota and Detroit. Zero, the bagel, the horse collar, the toilet seat, zilch, nada, nothing.

Coincidence? I think not.

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Skip greenBayless's picture

March 25, 2019 at 04:56 pm

This is not good!! Not good at all!! Do we really want to get our air deflated in the season opener for crying out loud? I get everyone is thinking the Packers are improving. It's normal every single year to think that but this is the NFC North Division Champions Chicago Bears we are talking about. This isn't your ordinary team. They have improved at every position including safety with the addition of Ha'sean Clinton Dix. They are so good I'm actually predicting a Bears/Browns super bowl this year. I would prefer someone easier to play in week one just so the fans don't get let down right away. Talk about brutal wow. I can't believe some Packers fans are wanting this. The entire nation will be watching too. The Packers have been getting killed on national tv the past several years. I don't like this sorry.

Dash

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GBPDAN1's picture

March 25, 2019 at 05:10 pm

Hi, Dash

I'd rather open the season against a lesser opponent, also. With a new head coach and system, it would be better to have a warm up game or 2 coming out if the gates prior to playing division foes or elite NFC teams that will count per playoff seeding purposes.

However, this is what was handed to us by the schedule makers, so let's embrace it. And it being the 100 anniversary of the NFL, it's an honor to be one of the pioneer teams and to be chosen to represent the league. Let the Packers history shine in front of the Nation in this epic season opener!

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Skip greenBayless's picture

March 25, 2019 at 05:26 pm

Well GBPDan, I am sure the fans will be embracing it but I guarantee you Aaron Rodgers and LaFleur privately just shook their heads when they saw this. Fan perspective? great. A team perspective? A full time priest in the locker room wouldn't hurt. This could be brutal. The Bears are a team ready to explode this year out of the gate. I view them now similar to the 1996 Packers team IMPrO. I honestly think Roger Goodell hates the Packers and is doing this stuff on purpose to embarrass them. The bad calls last year and now the mighty Bears in the season opener going up against a new offense with a green rookie head coach? What else can a guy conclude?

Dash

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jeremyjjbrown's picture

March 25, 2019 at 05:36 pm

"What else can a guy conclude?"

That the NFL wants to celebrate 100 years of football by showcasing it's oldest rivalry...

I'm glad personally. Now there will be plenty of motivation to hit the ground running. And, the Bears new DC will have no tape on the Packers Offense under MLF.

5 points
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jannes bjornson's picture

March 25, 2019 at 08:42 pm

Didn't Nagy have his warmup game @ Lambeau in the frenzy?

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Leatherhead's picture

March 25, 2019 at 05:19 pm

Dash....16 games. Your home games are more important than your road games, your division opponents are more important than your non-division opponents.

So on a scale of importance, the game in Chicago is no higher than 9th. If we win, it's huge. If we don't win, we can get even when they come to our place. I'm glad it's in Chicago instead of Green Bay, because the Bear/Packer game in Green Bay is #1 on the list of important games for us this year.

Plus, we get 10 days then to prepare for Week Two. Advantage. So to recap, a great opportunity to steal a game on the road against our primary division foe and no big deal if we don't, plus we get an advantage in preparing for the next game. I'll take it.

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Skip greenBayless's picture

March 25, 2019 at 05:38 pm

Yeah, I get what you are saying it's only one game on the road. The part I don't like is the fact the entire nation and world will be watching that game. The Bears last year almost humiliated us in the opener. Rodgers goes down and Kizer comes in and within a second we are the 1975 Green Bay Packers again. I would hate to see that happen or simply lose in a lopsided humiliating defeat and Aaron Rodgers played every single snap. I would like a creampuff in week one just to get LaFleur's feet wet. I guess not. So be it as they say.

Dash

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albert999's picture

March 25, 2019 at 06:05 pm

Interesting Riproar?
Not surprisingly, adding a high-level scout from the Baltimore Ravens personnel department helped the Green Bay Packers land one of the Ravens’ top free agents.

Milt Hendrickson, formerly a national scout for the Ravens who took a job as Brian Gutekunst’s top personnel executive in Green Bay, helped lead the Packers to outside linebacker Za’Darius Smith in free agency.

3 points
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Demon's picture

March 26, 2019 at 01:06 pm

Youre right Dash but, this year maybe we have a better game plan than what MM had last year. Having Bulaga who hadnt practiced in over 6 months block Mack one on one was completely idiotic.

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albert999's picture

March 25, 2019 at 05:54 pm

Riproar buddy ya got it wrong on this one. The bears QB isn’t going to the Super bowl and ha ha is just that...hahahahahahaha
I don’t buy into all the hype about the Pack but bring on the bears opening day ....everyone healthy ,,,,,,and it’s a battle we win
Just wish it was in Lambeau to really make it interesting
Uncle Albert

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LarryPennell's picture

March 25, 2019 at 06:08 pm

Do you think that the Bears fared well with a rookie head coach last year? Why couldn't the Packers have the same success with their rookie HC? Plus we have the advantage of Mike Pettine returning and the Bears losing Fangio. There have been some Chicago beat writers claiming that Amos is a better safety than Ha Ha. While I am a realist and understand this game will be quite the battle I tend to look at it with optimism and feel that my team, the GBP, will come away with a victory. If the Packers can steal a road win against a division rival what a celebration, if we lose we get another chance to beat them when they come to Lambeau. C'mon Dash, show some support for your team rather than all the doom and gloom.

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NickPerry's picture

March 25, 2019 at 07:38 pm

I'd hate to have you behind me in a bar fight Dash. For some reason I think I'd find you outside behind the bar or under the pool table once it started. In a comment below you want a "Cupcake" to open and now you're afraid of HHCD.

Give a break...HHCD?....HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

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Skip greenBayless's picture

March 25, 2019 at 08:07 pm

I'm telling you right now Nick that Mr. Dix is locked and loaded. He is going to be a major problem for us this season. He's in the perfect defense for him. To me Dix going to Chicago was a serious game changer for the Bears. He completed their puzzle. We've got a lot of work to do to come close to catching these guys. I wouldn't laugh Nick and I sure as hell wouldn't poke the bear.

Dash

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albert999's picture

March 25, 2019 at 08:23 pm

Your wrong on this Dash
look at his tape in GB
look at his tape in Washington
NOT GOOD
In college he was aggressive then got paid and got lazy and isn’t loyal
Hes a bust....just like I believe Polite will be
Glad we dumped him when we did

Uncle Albert

5 points
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LarryPennell's picture

March 25, 2019 at 08:27 pm

Poor Dash

3 points
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Bure9620's picture

March 25, 2019 at 08:28 pm

HHCD is very scary, that move where he back pedals away from the ball carrier, blockers, and all other football players to avoid contact is particularly horrifying.

9 points
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Demon's picture

March 26, 2019 at 12:58 pm

Clinton Dix was even too lazy to be a poser. He was just a fake or fraud. Another of uncle Teddys wasted draft picks.

Where do you get these ideas Dash? Im told there are medications that will help with the delusions you have.

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Ryan3468's picture

March 26, 2019 at 12:10 am

If you lose a game? A week one game? What? You are a Vikings fan.

2 points
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Tom Legener's picture

March 26, 2019 at 08:56 am

You knew it was trolling when he said Ha-Ha made them better.

Yeah, they still suck.

2 points
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Demon's picture

March 26, 2019 at 11:21 am

Bears/browns super bowl? Ha ha ha. At minimum the browns are a year awzy from respectability. The bears, well they're the bears.

1 points
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GBPDAN1's picture

March 25, 2019 at 05:03 pm

Love it. Enjoy Starting the season with a victory !

Another thing I like, is it being the first game of the year, it's like no other Thursday game as the Packers will adjust their preseason around this ahead of time. Then we have have 10 days to prepare for the next opponent. A little mini bye early in the season with out having to play a short week prior

3 points
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jeremyjjbrown's picture

March 25, 2019 at 05:37 pm

Great point.

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albert999's picture

March 25, 2019 at 05:57 pm

That 10 days for week 2 is huge

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albert999's picture

March 25, 2019 at 08:08 pm

The Green Bay Packers placed themselves in a position every organization wants to be in: The franchise will enter the draft with no glaring holes and a pair of first-round picks to use.

Free-agent signings of Preston Smith, Za'Darius Smith, Adrian Amos and Billy Turner addressed the team's issues at pass-rush, safety and guard. As a result, the Packers can now let the draft come to them without forcing a pick based on significant need.

A little foresight will allow the team to address a position beyond the upcoming campaign. For example, right tackle Bryan Bulaga, who has been a starter since the team selected him with a 2010 first-round pick, just turned 30 years old, missed 13 games over the last two seasons and enters the final season on his contract.

Washington's Kaleb McGary quietly went about his business during the predraft process and may have worked his way up to a first-round prospect when the career right tackle wasn't originally considered a top offensive line prospect.

First, McGary more than held his own at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama, against the draft class' top defenders. He then performed well at the NFL combine with top-10 performances among offensive linemen in the 40-yard dash (5.05 seconds), vertical jump (33.5 inches), broad jump (9'3") and short shuttle (4.58 seconds).

David Bakhtiari and a healthy Bulaga form arguably the league's best offensive tackle tandem, but the Packers have reached the point where alternatives are necessary to protect Aaron Rodgers.

-1 points
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Thegreatreynoldo's picture

March 26, 2019 at 09:34 am

McCary? He's a project at best. Day 3 prospect, and I'd prefer not at all. Needs massive technique work.

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Pierre's picture

March 25, 2019 at 08:51 pm

Packers -Bears; sure is an long time great rivalry, even more exciting now with Chicago being the defending division champs. It will be a huge test to see if this Packers team is able start with a big road win in Chicago...they certainly have the potential to do so.
However, no matter the new free agents signed by GB or their new draft picks, this game and season will be judged by how good Rodgers is able to play the QB position. Will he continue the decline in his QB play as evidenced last season, or does he still possess the skill set to lead a productive offense that converts third downs and can readily score TDs...against even the best defenses? That to me will be the biggest question for the 2019 Packers team even as so many point only to question marks at so many other positions on this team....the biggest question mark is at the QB position for Green Bay.

Can Aaron Rodgers produce and play QB at the elite level for which he is being paid by this organization or will we be hearing the same old excuses this year (as last) when he continues to perform more like a below average NFL QB, continuing to throw the ball out of bounds rather than down the field to his receivers and going three and out most series?

Yes, that’s the most important variable to look at to determine the level of success this Packers team will have in the 2019 season.

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Jonathan Spader's picture

March 26, 2019 at 10:18 am

The Packers will go as far on offense as Rodgers can take them. Chicago will go as far as Turdbisket can take them. I'll take a declining Rodgers over a maybe ascending Turdbisket in 2019.

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albert999's picture

March 25, 2019 at 08:59 pm

3 and out most series? I don’t think so.
I agree he didn’t look for the first down throw and looked to much fo the big play but it also had a lot to do with McCarthys play calling and their broken relationship and his injuries

1 points
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AgrippaLII's picture

March 25, 2019 at 10:29 pm

I like it! The Bears will be a team on a mission this coming season...but so will the Packers. The Bears look to right a cosmic wrong and the Packers look to keep from being embarrassed on National TV. It'll be a real "Slobber Knocker".

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Packerpasty's picture

March 26, 2019 at 08:29 am

good opening for all the new guys to learn about this rivalry....a close game and a loss and everyone says Pack still getting accustomed to a new offense.....a Bears loss and its totally devastating...I have no doubt Bears fans don't like this..

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Since'61's picture

March 25, 2019 at 10:45 pm

Great challenge for the Packers and for MLF in his first game as the Packers HC. We'll take the Bears as usual, open the season 1-0 and go into a mini bye. Go Pack Go!
Thanks, Since '61

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