How Green Bay Packers QB Aaron Rodgers came to own the Bears

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers might not be an official member of the McCaskey family, but he has owned their franchise since 2008.

Aaron Rodgers is 21-5 against the Chicago Bears. He has thrown for 6,208 yards and 57 touchdowns against the Monsters of the Midway. In 26 games against the Bears, Rodgers has thrown just 10 interceptions.

His record and overall numbers in the rivalry prove he was not merely talking trash to the Chicago Bears fans during the Packers-Bears’ last meeting.

How did Aaron Rodgers come to own the Green Bay Packers biggest rival? This timeline of games shows how he became an “unofficial” Chicago Bears shareholder.

November 16, 2008: Aaron Rodgers made his first career start in the Packers-Bears rivalry. The Packers annihilated the Bears 38-3. Rodgers completed 23 of 30 passes for 227 yards and two touchdowns.

September 13, 2009: The knock on Aaron Rodgers’ 2008 season was he could not lead the Packers to a come-from-behind win. He got his first against the Chicago Bears. He did it as Jay Cutler made his much-anticipated debut for the Bears.

Bears fans thought Chicago finally got a franchise quarterback for the first time since 1950. Cutler threw four interceptions, but he somehow led the Bears to a late 15-13 lead.

Rodgers took the field for the Packers’ final drive and found a wide-open Greg Jennings for a 55-yard touchdown pass. The Packers opened the season with a 21-15 victory.

"“I was thinking, ‘We’re due. We’re due for one good drive,'” Rodgers said. “I told the guys, just give me one drive.”"

January 2, 2011: The Green Bay Packers needed to beat the Bears to make the playoffs. The Bears had already clinched the NFC North. Chicago’s defense did everything they could to knock out the Packers. The Bears’ offense did not give the same effort as they scored just three points.

Faced with a win-or-game home moment, Rodgers led the Packers on a late scoring drive to win 10-3 and punch a ticket to the playoffs where the two rivals would eventually meet again in the NFC Championship Game.

January 23, 2011: Aaron Rodgers led the Packers to their biggest win in the rivalry with a 21-14 triumph in the NFC Championship Game.

Rodgers scored the game’s first touchdown on a one-yard scramble. He celebrated with his patented discount-double check.

He threw for 244 yards but had two interceptions.

He made a game-saving play when he was picked off by Brian Urlacher. Urlacher had nothing but Rodgers and green grass in front of him. Rodgers swiped at Urlacher’s feet and did enough to trip him up. If Rodgers did not make that heads-up play, Urlacher probably would have scored, and the game might have had a different outcome.

Instead, the Green Bay Packers lifted the George Halas Trophy in Chicago and went on to win the Super Bowl.

December 12, 2012:  Rodgers threw for 291 yards and three touchdowns in a 21-13 Packers’ win at Soldier Field. It was the last Packers-Bears game Lovie Smith coached in.

Lovie became famous in this rivalry for saying when he was hired by the Bears in 2004; a major focus would be beating Green Bay.

Smith did a good job of beating the Packers with Brett Favre as Green Bay’s quarterback with a 6-2 record. Rodgers handled Smith’s Cover-2 defense much better than Favre as Lovie was 2-9 against Aaron.

December 29, 2013: The Packers and Bears faced off at Soldier Field in the final game of the season for the NFC North Division Championship.

Rodgers returned after he missed seven games with a broken collarbone during the first Bears-Packers matchup at Lambeau Field.

It was back-and-forth all game long.

The Bears clung desperately to a 28-27 lead late in the game. It came down to fourth and eight with 38 seconds left. The Packers had to go for it. The Bears’ defensive coordinator Mel Tucker called a blitz.

It almost worked except Bears’ safety Chris Conte had just let Randall Cobb run right by him, leaving Cobb wide open–and I mean wide open.

Rodgers lofted a pass to Cobb, and he raced into the endzone. Ballgame and the Green Bay Packers won the NFC North despite going 8-7-1 on the season.

Rodgers also shook off two early interceptions to finish with 318 yards passing and two touchdown throws.

September 9, 2014: The Packers were 1-2 heading into the matchup at Soldier Field. Green Bay fans were all in a fuss with the team’s poor start. Rodgers, during the week leading up to the game, told the fanbase to R-E-L-A-X.

He promptly eased every Packers fan’s tension by throwing for 302 yards and four touchdowns in a 38-17 blowout of the Bears.

November 9, 2014: Aaron Rodgers may have played his best game ever against the Chicago Bears. Well, it was more like his best half of football ever against the Bears.

Rodgers threw six touchdowns in the first half, and Green Bay went into the locker room up 42-0. Rodgers only played two more series in the third quarter, and his night was over.

He completed 18 of 27 passes for 315 yards and a 145.8 passer rating. The Packers destroyed the Bears 55-14. The beating was so bad it was long speculated that Bears’ ownership made the decision to fire head coach Marc Trestman and general manager Phil Emery after the game–but they would wait until after the season to announce the move.

September 9, 2018: Aaron Rodgers was sacked with 9:22 left in the second quarter. He was in a lot of pain and grabbed his left knee. Everyone at Lambeau Field felt Rodgers was done for the season as he headed into the locker room to get checked out by team doctors.

It was determined the injury to his knee was not severe, and Rodgers came back in the second half to a roaring ovation but with Green Bay down 20 to the Bears.

Rodgers erased that deficit with three touchdown passes as the Packers beat the Bears 24-23.

"“When I got the ovation, at that point, I said, `We might as well win this thing,” Rodgers recounted."

The last five games: The Green Bay Packers have won the last five meetings against the Bears. Aaron Rodgers’ numbers in those five games are eye-popping. Rodgers has completed 91 of 139 passes for a 65% completion percentage. He has thrown for 1,052 yards, 12 touchdowns, and no interceptions. The Packers have outscored the Bears 131-71.

It is easy to see why Aaron Rodgers thinks he owns Chicago. His numbers and performances against the Bears back it up.