The Packers and the Bears first met in 1921, when the Bears were the Staleys, the N.F.L. was the A.P.F.A., and F. Scott Fitzgerald was 25 years old. A trainload of 300 Packers fans, joined by a brass band in woodsman costumes (the Cheeseheads came later), traveled to Chicago to watch the 20-0 loss. Pete Stinchcomb opened the scoring with a 45-yard touchdown, then Pard Pearce set up a second score with that pinnacle of 1920s innovation, a forward pass, to Dutch Sternaman.

“After several wallops at the line Pard Pierce finally bucked through for a touchdown on a quarterback plunge,” read a newspaper account of the game. Oddly enough, the Bears used the same series of plays against the Seahawks last Sunday.

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Before the start of the 2008 season, the Green Bay Packers handed control of their offense over to Aaron Rodgers, who had waited patiently for years behind Brett Favre.

The Philadelphia Eagles are hoping their similar handling of Kevin Kolb will begin paying off this season.

Three years after arriving in Philadelphia, Kolb is now the franchise’s starting quarterback as the Eagles welcome Green Bay to Lincoln Financial Field for Sunday’s season opener.

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