Green Bay Packers vs. Chicago Bears: NFL's Greatest Rivalry Just Got Better

The NFL's greatest rivalry will add another chapter to its legacy when the Green Bay Packers face off against the Chicago Bears Sunday at 3 p.m. for the NFC Championship.

This meeting counts as their 182nd all time, and few contests between the two have had as much at stake. 

Can the Packers knock off the Bears and hoist the George Halas Trophy?

Will the Bears send their neighbors to the north packing as they take a shot at the Lombardi Trophy?

In short, this is an NFL fan’s wet dream: Two founding teams in the black-and-blue division slugging it out in the dead of winter.  This game stands to become the most-watched conference championship game, a record held by the 1981 NFC Championship Game between the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers ("The Catch"). That game was watched by over 68 million Americans.

Before the 2010 season kicked off, few picked the Bears to reach the postseason, and with good reason.  The Packers and Vikings seemed the more likely candidates for NFC North playoff representation.

Many Bears experts and fans expected a January search for a new head coach.

Defying all expectations, the Bears managed to grab 11 wins and clinched the NFC North with two weeks left in the regular season.  The Packers needed to win their last two games to grab a Wild Card spot at the sixth seed.

Despite the Packers' struggles, they’ve played extremely well since the postseason began.  A solid win over the Philadelphia Eagles was quickly followed by a dominant performance over the No. 1 seed Atlanta Falcons.

Aaron Rodgers' excellent play, along with Green Bay’s solid defense, has experts putting the Packers in the Super Bowl with the contest against the Bears a mere formality.

This matchup may prove closer than the predictions.

The Bears’ early season victory over the Packers has been overlooked.  The penalties called against the Packers may have cost them the game, but many of those penalties resulted directly from their fear of Bears defensive lineman Julius Peppers. 

Teams evolve during the course of the season, and while the Packers managed to impress despite some devastating injuries, the Bears have become a more balanced and dangerous team.

The Packers won the 2010 season finale against the Bears and earned their spot in the playoffs.  While the Bears lost, they still held the high-powered Packers offense to only 10 points. 

The Bears' inability to knock off the Pack may come back to spoil their Super Bowl hopes. 

This Sunday’s matchup pits two explosive teams with solid defenses against each other.  This can turn out to be a fascinating contest.  We should enjoy it while we can; it may be another 182 games before it happens again.