NEWSLETTER
The Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers are taking their rivalry from the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field and messy grass surfaces of the Soldier Field to whatever they call the plot of land that is used to play cornhole.
No, seriously.
More from NBC Sports Chicago’s Alex Shapiro, who writes about how Bears and Packers players are playing celebrity cornhole. Or bags. Or whatever you want to call it:
A couple of Bears teammates will renew the Packers rivalry a little early this year, but it won’t be on the gridiron. Cornerback Tyrique Stevenson and left tackle Braxton Jones will take on Packers running back A.J. Dillon and corner Carrington Valentine in a celebrity cornhole tournament on Saturday night in Milwaukee.
The Bears and Packers players will each be paired with a professional cornhole player in the American Cornhole League Superhole Series V, the fifth iteration of the celebrity cornhole championship. The tournament in Milwaukee is one of four qualifiers for the championship round in early 2025. Saints quarterback Derek Carr, Bills defensive tackle DaQuan Jones, Texans DT Tim Settle Jr. and Raiders running Alexander Mattison have already qualified for the championship round.
I don’t know if any of the contestants above can play bags. But for some reason, I like the Bears’ chances here.
A new chapter of the Bears-Packers rivalry
Cornerback Tyrique Stevenson seems like an ideal partner for this kind of game. A fierce competitor with an aggressive nature, you’d think this is the type of environment Stevenson would thrive in if given the opportunity. As for left tackle Braxton Jones, I think he might do well because every big fella I have ever played cornhole with has been good. Perhaps there is something about having soft hands and good balance that translate from being a quality offensive lineman to throwing bags on boards. Maybe I’m reaching or projecting, or perhaps I’m just sharing from prior experiences.
And if all else fails, the Bears could look to someone like Teven Jenkins for advice. After all, he’s got some experience playing bags (or cornhole) in a historic environment:
Cornhole or bags? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/7vp0EveZEI
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) June 11, 2022
The Green Bay Packers lead the all-time series 107-95-6. It has been rough sledding for Chicago’s football team, which has won just four times against the Packers since flipping the calendar to 2010. At this point, I’ll happily take it if the Bears could pull out a win in any sort of competition against the Packers. Yes, even if it is a game of cornhole.
