The rivalry between the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears has been as hot as it has been in several years, and there are many aspects that are fanning the flames. The frosty relationship between Matt LaFleur and Ben Johnson may be at the top of the list, but so is a battle between the two quarterbacks, Caleb Williams and Jordan Love.
The rivalry between the two signal callers, which has even former Packers quarterbacks taking sides, had another wrinkle added on Monday morning when ESPN's Jeremy Fowler released a list of the NFL's top quarterbacks ahead of the 2026 season.
The list, which was the result of a vote between 70 anonymous executives, coaches and scouts, was set out to rank who is the quarterback right now, and Packers fans won't be thrilled to find out that Love didn't make the list while Williams was ranked 10th.
"Here's where it gets interesting," Fowler wrote. "Four quarterbacks – Williams, Seattle's Sam Darnold, Green Bay's Jordan Love and Washington's Jayden Daniels – were very close in voting for the 10th spot. So we took it to tiebreakers, gathering input from several general managers and executives. Why did Williams barely win out for the final spot on the list? He's the hardest of the four for teams to prepare for and defend."
Jordan Love's ESPN slight adds more fuel to Packers/Bears rivalry
The fact that Love was on the fringe of the top 10 should be seen as a good thing. One "veteran NFL offensive coach" noted that Love's "control of the offense, protection and route adjustments" has "really grown" as he's become quarterback of the Packers. An "NFC scout" also noted that "he doesn't get enough credit for playing the position consistently well" and "he has got the athletic traits to match it."
Both are aspects that should set Love up for his best year as a starter in 2026 and it should make Packers fans disagree with the executives that think Williams is the better quarterback.
Williams has the highlight reel factor, making throws from platforms that are normally reserved for Patrick Mahomes, who was ranked second on the list behind Josh Allen. He also has recency bias in his corner, earning two comeback victories over the Packers to help win a division title in Week 16 and send Green Bay to Cancun after falling into a 24-7 hole at halftime of a Wild Card playoff game.
But if we're talking about who is the better quarterback, Love should have the advantage.
Love's overall numbers of 3,381 yards, 23 touchdowns and six interceptions were suppressed after leaving the Week 16 loss to the Bears with a concussion and the next final two games of the regular season before returning for the Wild Card matchup. He also had a higher completion percentage, yards per attempt and quarterback rating than Williams while also leading Green Bay to a 9-3-1 record before Micah Parsons went down with an injury.
It's also worth noting that Pro Football Focus had a large gap between the two rivals in their QB Annual, released last week. While Love ranked third behind Matthew Stafford (91.7) and Joe Burrow (91.3) with an overall rating of 88.7, Williams ranked 19th with an overall grade of 72.2.
Even if those polled remember the playoff game, it was Love who outdueled Williams to help the Packers get their big lead, throwing for 323 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions. Williams deserves credit for the comeback, but he was also erratic, completing 24-of-48 passes for 361 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.
Of course, the victor reaps the benefits and the Bears' reward is a tougher schedule and an attempt at avoiding the Madden Curse. But it's hard to blame Love after Brandon McManus left four points on the table with missed kicks and the Packers' defense went AWOL in the fourth quarter, helping Chicago earn its first playoff victory since 2010.
Love probably doesn't need added motivation after coming up short in his chase for a championship. But the ESPN poll could provide some nice bulletin-board material and help Love get the upper hand on Williams and the Bears next season.
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