Bears defender promises 'not to lose' to NFC North rival in 2024

Chicago Bears defensive lineman Montez Sweat (98)

There’s no arguing that the Bears are building something special this offseason, but they are still being viewed as the little brother in the NFC North.

Defensive end Montez Sweat, who Chicago traded for at the trade deadline last season, is ready to change that narrative, especially against his team’s biggest division rival.

“I’m letting you know right now, man, I’m not losing to Green Bay this year,” Sweat said on the “Green Light” podcast, hosted by former NFL edge rusher Chris Long. “I can’t do it, I can’t do it, man. I’m not losing to Green Bay this year. We’ve created a real rivalry over there.”

It’s surprising that Sweat already feels strongly about defeating the Packers since he faced them only once as a Bear. However, it may still be fresh on his mind, as his one and only meeting against Green Bay ended in a 17-9 loss in Week 18 of last season.

Plus, it’s no secret that the Packers have dominated the rivalry for some time now, winning 10 straight, 17 of the past 20 games and 22 of the last 26.

If Sweat hopes to stay true to his promise and end Green Bay’s dominance, he must pick up right where he left off in 2023. The former first-round pick in 2019 is coming off a season when he posted a career-high 57 tackles, 12.5 sacks and three forced fumbles.

Still, the 27-year-old won’t be able to do it alone, and that’s okay since Chicago owns the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. That selection will presumably turn out to be USC QB Caleb Williams after the team traded QB Justin Fields to the Steelers earlier this offseason.

It will certainly be a different-looking Bears team in 2024 with tons of upside. Will they finally meet expectations or fall back into the franchise’s recent struggles?

Only time will tell, but Sweat is clearly confident it will be the former.

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