Referees Separate Amped Packers, Bears Before Wild-Card Game Kickoff
Refs separate fired-up Packers, Bears pre-kickoff
Tensions boiled over moments before kickoff as referees were forced to intervene and separate players from the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears following a heated pregame confrontation ahead of their highly anticipated wild-card matchup . As both teams completed warmups near midfield, several players from each side exchanged words that quickly escalated into shoving and chest-to-chest posturing. Officials, along with team captains and coaches, rushed in to prevent the situation from spiraling further, forming a human barrier to restore order just minutes before the national anthem . The rivalry between the Packers and Bears—one of the oldest and most intense in professional football—was clearly on display. Players on both sides appeared visibly energized, with the high stakes of a playoff game amplifying emotions that already run deep between the NFC North foes. “No one’s backing down at this point in the season,” one veteran player said afterward. “This is playoff football . You expect …
