Packers CB gives Bears bulletin-board material for opener

Green Bay Packers cornerback Rasul Douglas. Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports

Packers CB gives Bears timely bulletin-board material for season opener

By Michael Gallagher | Last updated 9/5/23

Aaron Rodgers could say it and get away with it. Rasul Douglas, however, may be a different story.

The 28-year-old cornerback, who’s heading into his third year with the Packers, gave Green Bay’s NFC North rival, the Chicago Bears, plenty of motivation heading into their season-opening matchup on Sunday after he shared with reporters how little of a threat the Bears actually pose.

"My thing is I just got here [in 2021], so they [the Packers and Bears] were in a rivalry, but I haven't ever lost to the Bears in all my seven years," Douglas said on Monday. "So, it's not really a rivalry to me. I think more of a rivalry would be back in the day you've been on the same team for 12 years or something like that, and you've been going back and forth every year. Maybe that's a rivalry to you, but to me, it's like I don't really care. I don't have a rivalry in the NFL, so it's hard. I mean, some players might feel that."

Bears-Packers rivalry flames: stoked!

DT Justin Jones said that Packers fans "are shitty" and "half of them don't even know football."
— Kevin Fishbain (@kfishbain) June 13, 2023

While Douglas’ success against the Bears — both personal and as a Packer — can’t be denied, the series is a lot closer than he’s leading on. Green Bay holds a 105-95-6 edge in the all-time series.

Despite finishing 3-14 last season, the Bears are actually a slight favorite (-115) to beat the Packers in Week 1, per DraftKings.

Sunday’s contest marks Chicago’s best shot at a win since the 2018 season when it notched its last win over Green Bay — a 24-17 win at Soldier Field. Although the Packers have won 13 of the last 14 meetings, including the last eight, they won’t have Rodgers, who had a 24-5 career record against the Bears, to rely on as they break in first-year starter Jordan Love.

After adding running back D’Onta Foreman, receiver D.J. Moore, tight end Robert Tonyan, offensive linemen Nate Davis and Darnell Wright, defensive ends Yannick Ngakoue and DeMarcus Walker, linebackers Tremaine Edmunds and T.J. Edwards, the Bears are a much-improved team compared to the one that lost both games to the Packers last year by double-digit points.

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