The Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears don’t need much help turning a game into something emotional. History alone usually takes care of that. Add in playoff stakes, a division rivalry and a quarterback who didn’t make it out of the last meeting unscathed, and the temperature rises naturally.
Saturday’s wild-card matchup has all the familiar ingredients. Green Bay and Chicago split their regular-season meetings, and the third installment comes with far more at stake than bragging rights. For the Bears, it’s a chance to make a statement at home. For the Packers, it’s about survival — and reminding a longtime rival that the road still runs through them.
Those dynamics have lingered all week, but the tone sharpened once the conversation turned back to Week 16.
That’s when Packers quarterback Jordan Love took a hit in Chicago that resulted in a concussion and forced him to miss the following week’s loss to the Baltimore Ravens. While the Packers moved forward, the moment didn’t disappear inside the locker room.
Running back Josh Jacobs made that clear when speaking with reporters this week.
“I know a lot of guys took that hit that he took a little personal,” Jacobs said, per The Athletic's Matt Schneidman. “So I’m not saying we gon’ go out there and play dirty or nothing like that, but we definitely gonna defend our brother.”
Jacobs stopped short of framing it as payback, and he was careful with his wording. But the message itself didn’t need translation. Green Bay hasn’t forgotten what happened, even as it insists discipline and control will matter most in a playoff setting.
That balance — emotion without recklessness — has defined much of the Packers’ season. Green Bay has lived on the edge at times, especially late, but it has also leaned on its leaders to keep things from spiraling. Jacobs has become one of those voices, both on the field and in the locker room.
His comments weren’t a promise of cheap shots or retaliation. They were a reminder that this is still a physical sport, and that quarterbacks don’t get left unprotected — especially in January.
Whether the matchup turns chippy or simply physical remains to be seen. But Jacobs’ words made one thing clear: for the Packers, this isn’t just another playoff game. It’s personal — even if they insist it won’t cross the line.