A look at the last two decades of the Packers-Bears rivalry

After Laura quit pouting over the Bears loss to the Packers in the 2010-11 NFC title game, she decided to be a good sport and join her family in cheering on the Pack in Super Bowl XLV.

I'm married to a Bears fan. As such, I got a lot of crap from her and others like her after the Bears beat the Packers the other night. But it's ok; I'm going to take the high road and let them celebrate. After all, Chicago fans haven't had much to enjoy the last couple of decades. The Badger Catholic Research Department dug up some interesting information about the NFL's longest-running rivalry over the last two decades (plus this year).
 
Packers            Bears
Head-to-Head Wins 30 13
Total Wins 210 161
Total Losses 118 167
Playoff Wins 17 4
Playoff Losses 13 5
Winning Seasons 16 8
Losing Seasons 2 11
Playoff Seasons 15 5
Division Titles 9 4
Last Place in Division 1 6
NFC Championships 3 1
Super Bowl Championships 2 0
MVP Awards 4 0
Defensive MVPs 2 1

A few takeaways from the data:
  • The Packers average record during this stretch is a little better than 10-6. The Bears is just shy of 8-8.
  • The Packers have won more than four times as many playoff games as the Bears.
  • The Packers have had twice as many winning seasons as the Bears and three times as many playoff seasons. The Bears have had more than five times as many losing seasons as the Packers.
  • The Packers have seen four players combine for six MVP Awards and Defensive Player of the Year Awards. The Bears got one from Brian Urlacher.
Perhaps it's a bit unfair to Chicago to compare the Bears to a Packers team that has enjoyed one of the finest 20 year stretches in NFL history. While the numbers look pretty lopsided here, it's simply because the Packers have been great. The Bears haven't been terrible--just mediocre. And that's why I always say there's nothing wrong with rooting for the Bears--as long as you're not particularly interested in winning Super Bowls.