As Bears coach Matt Nagy pointed out this week, the Bears’ opener against the Packers last season was unforgettable for two reasons — Khalil Mack’s astonishing debut that sparked the Bears to a 17-0 halftime lead; and the collapse in the second half in which Aaron Rodgers threw three touchdown passes in the fourth quarter as the Packers turned a 20-0 deficit into a 24-23 victory.
Even in defeat, that season-opening game turned out to be a harbinger of better things to come: The Bears finished 12-4 and made the playoffs for the first time since 2010. It was reminiscent of previous opening-day losses that forecast better things to come: In 2001, the Bears lost 17-6 to the defending Super Bowl champion Ravens on the road — after leading 6-3 late in the third quarter — and went on a magical run to an unexpected 13-3 season; and in 2005, the Bears lost 9-7 to a playoff-bound Redskins team on the road before getting traction under Lovie Smith in his second season and finished 11-5 — a precursor to the Super Bowl season of 2006.