The Chicago Bears haven’t beaten the Green Bay Packers since December of the 2018 season.
Based on his recent exchange with Packers pass rusher Preston Smith, Bears defensive end Montez Sweat seems ready to change that particular narrative.
It was all in good fun, of course, but after Smith took to social media to rib Sweat about skipping a recent workout, the Bears DE sent the perfect response back. “@_sweat9 skipped the track workout today and expect to help the bears beat us 🤣🤣🤣🤣 yea aite,” Smith wrote on X on June 27.
Not to be outdone, Sweat ribbed Smith back. “I went with the 12 o’clock group 😂😂😂 better enjoy that lil streak while you can,” Sweat replied.
Montez Sweat Wants to Change Narrative for Bears vs Preston Smith & Packers
Bears fans are well-versed in how badly the team has played against their top divisional rivals in recent decades.
The NFL’s oldest and most storied rivalry (it dates back to 1921, when the Bears were still named the Staleys), Chicago once owned a solid advantage in the series against Green Bay after dominating it in the 1980s. That changed over the 1990s and 2000s and has yet to sway back in Chicago’s favor.
The Packers have won 10 straight games against the Bears, with Chicago eking out wins just four times in its last 30 matchups against the Packers. Heading into the 2024 regular season, the Packers currently lead the all-time series, 107-95-6.
Sweat has been with the Bears less than a full season, as he was traded to Chicago just ahead of the November 1 trade deadline last year.
The Bears’ defensive end will have his first full training camp with the team starting July 19, and considering how much the defense improved after his arrival, there’s reason for optimism in Chicago.
Bears Defense Looking to Take Next Step in 2024
The addition of Sweat midway through their 2023 campaign gave the Bears’ defense a significant boost. Chicago had amassed just 10 sacks through its first eight games last year. Five of those came Week 5 against the Commanders.
With Sweat in the lineup, the defense finished with 20 sacks over the final nine games of the regular season. The 27-year-old pass rusher led Chicago with 6.0 sacks, also adding 14 QB hits, four tackles-for-loss, three pass deflections and a forced fumble in his nine games with the Bears.
“We brought basically the same defensive staff back and we’ve got a lot of guys on defense back, so it’s definitely some familiar faces, familiar calls of course and all that type of stuff. Sort of kind of pick up where you left off, but we’ll see,” Sweat said after a team practice on June 4.
“It’s definitely exciting. We really can’t get caught up in what’s on paper. Football is played on the field and you gotta go out there and execute the X’s and O’s,” he added. “You can’t get caught up in any of that stuff that’s going on outside of here. Just stick to what we know, that’s playing football.”
If Sweat and the Bears can finally manage to take the Packers down, perhaps that narrative will finally begin to change.
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