Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame running back Clarke Hinkle tries to get past Chicago Bears defender Hampton Pool in the 1941 Western Division Playoff game at Wrigley Field in Chicago. The Bears won 33-14, and then went on to win the NFL Title.
10. 1989: Packers 14, Bears 13: The Bears (5-3) were starting their descent from Super Bowl contention status, while the Packers (4-4) were on the rise, .500 or better at the halfway point for the first time since 1983. It looked like the Bears were going to survive when Don Majkowski's 14-yard touchdown pass to Sterling Sharpe in the final seconds was nullified by a penalty for an illegal forward pass. But upon review, the call was controversially overturned.
10. 1983: Packers 31, Bears 28 at Lambeau Field: Both teams were 6-7 but still in contention. Jan Stenarud's 19-yard field goal with three seconds left gave the Packers the victory. But the Bears returned the favor two weeks later, beating the Packers 23-21, and Bart Starr was fired.
8. 1961: Packers 31, Bears 28 at Wrigley Field: The Packers (6-2) , who had lost in the NFL Championship game the previous season, were becoming a dominant team in the NFL. But the Bears were only a game behind them when they met at Wrigley Field on Nov. 12. Rookie tight end Mike Ditka caught three touchdown passes, but the Packers held off the Bears and started pulling away to win the NFL's Western Division.
9. 1994: Packers 40, Bears 3 at Lambeau Field: The Bears (8-5) not only had a chance to all but guarantee a playoff berth with a victory but had a chance to deliver a knockout blow the 6-7 Packers. The Bears beat the Rams the following week and still qualified for the playoffs.
8. 1995: Packers 35, Bears 28 at Lambeau Field: Though the Bears (6-3) were a game ahead of the Packers (5-4) in the standings, they still had plenty to prove. The Bears and Erik Kramer got into a shootout, but Kramer couldn't quite keep up with Brett Favre.
7. 1962: Packers 49, Bears 0 at Green Bay: The Bears were 2-0 and had won four consecutive games -- sounds familiar -- when they took on the defending NFL champion Packers (2-0). But it was no contest as the Packers gained 409 yards for their most-lopsided victory over the Bears.
6. 2001: Packers 20, Bears 12 at Soldier Field: The Bears were one of the NFL's surprise teams at 6-1 with a six-game winning streak. Brett Favre's mastery of them was too much. Favre threw touchdown passes to Bill Schroeder and Antonio Freeman and the Packers held the Bears to 43 rushing yards on 23 carries.
5. 1964: Packers 23, Bears 12 at Green Bay: Even as a season-opening game, this was a showdown. The Bears were the defending NFL champions. The Packers were still ascending as an NFL dynasty, with titles in 1961 and 1962 and a 37-6-1 record over the previous three seasons. And they reclaimed supremacy over the Bears on this day, as Bart Starr threw touchdown passes to Max McGee and Tom Moore.
4. 2001 Packers 17, Bears 7 at Lambeau Field: The Bears (9-2) and Packers (8-3) both were playoff bound, but home-field advantage was on the line when they met on Dec. 9 in Green Bay. The Packers put the discombobulated Bears in their place with a convincing victory.
3. 1963: Bears 26, Packers 7 at Wrigley Field: Both teams were 8-1 and only one of them would represent the West Division in the NFL Championship game. Willie Galimore scored on a 27-yard run to lead the Bears, who finished 11-1-2, a half-game ahead of the Packers (11-2-1) and beat the New York Giants in the NFL Championship game.
As storied as their rivalry is, the Bears and Packers have played very few meaningful games. When the two teams meet on Sunday in the NFC Championship, it will be only their second playoff meeting. The first came on Dec. 14, 1941, just seven days …