ASSOCIATED PRESS
Day/Time/TV: Saturday, 8:20 p.m. EST, Fox.
Series record: Packers lead 109-96-6.
Last meeting: Packers beat Bears 28-21 at Green Bay on Dec. 7.
Last week: Packers lost at Denver 34-26; Bears beat Cleveland 31-3.
Packers offense: overall (13), rush (18), pass (12), scoring (10)
Packers defense: overall (6), rush (8), pass (8), scoring (8)
Bears offense: overall (5), rush (2), pass (17), scoring (9)
Bears defense: overall (24), overall (23), pass (18), scoring (21)
Turnover differential: Packers plus-3; Bears plus-20.
The Chicago Bears were sitting atop the NFC with five straight wins and nine in the previous 10 games going into their most recent meeting with the Green Bay Packers. They came up short when Caleb Williams got intercepted in the end zone. They won’t have to wait long for the rematch.
Chicago and Green Bay meet for the second time in three weeks, this time at Soldier Field on Saturday night with first place in the NFC North on the line and Packers star pass rusher Micah Parsons out with a season-ending knee injury. Both teams have a chance to clinch a playoff spot. “It’s another game,” Williams said. “Go out here and do my job, play well. Start fast, get the energy going for the team and we’ve got a real shot to go win the game.” Williams made it clear after the Bears’ 31-3 romp over Cleveland last week that he was looking forward to the rematch with the Packers. It’s not hard to see why. The Bears (10-4) were threatening to tie or take the lead, only to come away with a 28-21 loss at Lambeau Field when Williams got intercepted in the end zone by Keisean Nixon with 22 seconds remaining on a badly underthrown pass to Cole Kmet. The loss knocked Chicago from first to seventh in the NFC and into second place in the division behind Green Bay.
Chicago bounced back in a big way against Cleveland and regained the North lead with the Packers falling at Denver. Even worse for Green Bay (9-4-1), Parsons tore his left anterior cruciate ligament in the third quarter, a massive blow for a team that came into the season with Super Bowl hopes after acquiring the two-time All-Pro from Dallas just before the opener. “Just understanding what’s in front of us, understanding that we’ve still got the pen in our hand,” Packers defensive end Rashan Gary said. “We can still write our story.”
With or without Parsons, Bears coach Ben Johnson sees a difficult task. “It’s a really good football team and a really good defense,” he said. “I know you kind of lock in on one player, because he does garner a lot of your attention when you go against that defense, and yet, they have some high-caliber players throughout, on the defensive line, the linebacking core and on the back end. Just because one player goes down, that doesn’t mean that this is going to change a whole lot for them.”
Packers player to watch
DL Rashan Gary. The Packers need one of their other pass rushers to step up now that Micah Parsons, who had 12½ sacks, is out for the season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament. Gary is the most proven of the candidates, though he hasn’t played particularly well lately. After recording 7½ sacks in Green Bay’s first seven games of the season, he doesn’t have any in the Packers’ last seven contests. He has a sack in two of his last three games against the Bears.
Bears player to watch
QB Caleb Williams. Williams made it clear after last week’s win that he was looking forward to the rematch with the Packers. Who could blame him? The 2022 Heisman Trophy winner had a rough time at Lambeau Field and it wasn’t just the ending, with an interception in the end zone by Keisean Nixon with 22 seconds remaining on a badly underthrown pass to Cole Kmet. Williams threw for just 186 yards and was 19 of 35 in his sixth straight game completing fewer than 60% of his passes. That streak ended against Cleveland, when he threw two touchdown passes and finished 17 of 28 for 242 yards.
Key matchup
Bears offensive line vs. Packers defensive line. Though Parsons didn’t have a sack in the game at Lambeau Field, he was consistently in Williams’ face. With Parsons out, Williams should have more time to let plays develop behind one of the NFL’s most effective lines.
Key injuries
Packers: Parsons wasn’t the only notable Packers player to get injured against Denver. Other players to exit that game included WR Christian Watson (chest/shoulder), RT Zach Tom (back/knee), S Evan Williams (knee) and TE Josh Whyle (concussion). RB Josh Jacobs re-injured his knee in that game, but played the rest of the way. While Parsons’ season is over, the status for the rest of those players is uncertain for Saturday.
Bears: WR Rome Odunze will miss his third straight game due to a lingering foot injury after being ruled out on Thursday. He was a late scratch against Cleveland after aggravating it in warmups… WR Luther Burden (ankle) is also out. He was hurt against Cleveland… LB Tremaine Edmunds (groin), who has missed the past four games, was a full participant in practice on Thursday and is listed as questionable after the Bears opened a 21-day practice window this week… RB D’Andre Swift (groin) was added to the injury list on Wednesday, when he was limited in practice, and is questionable.
Needing more from Gary
Parsons’ injury means the Packers will need all their healthy pass rushers to raise their games. Perhaps nobody is more equipped to do that than Rashan Gary, who has 46½ career sacks. It’s been an up-and-down season for Gary, who had 7½ sacks in Green Bay’s first seven games but none in the seven games since. “I’ve just got to be myself,” Gary said. “You know, when guys are thinking that they need to do more than what they’ve been doing, you start to strain, start to try to find plays that’s not there.”
Playoff scenarios
Chicago and Green Bay can clinch playoff spots with a win plus a loss or tie by Detroit against Pittsburgh. The two teams also would get in with a tie if the Lions lose. Green Bay is looking to reach the playoffs for the sixth time in seven years under coach Matt LaFleur, while Chicago is trying to make it for the first time since 2020. The Bears have just three trips to the postseason since the 2006 Super Bowl season.
Packers’ injury issues
Parsons isn’t the only notable Packers player who could be missing for Saturday’s game. Injuries knocked out wide receiver Christian Watson (chest/shoulder), safety Evan Williams (knee) and right tackle Zach Tom (back/knee) from the Packers’ loss at Denver. Running back Josh Jacobs said he reinjured his knee early in that game, though he continued to play and scored two touchdowns. The status for each of those players remains uncertain. “Definitely, it sucks to see guys go down that are key points for this team,” Williams said. “But it’s also an opportunity for more opportunities for other people. And that’s pretty cool to see, to see other people get their shot, and to get to see what they get to do with their time on the field.”
Lopsided rivalry
Though the Bears have a chance to add to their division lead, wins over the Packers are rare for them. Green Bay has dominated the NFL’s longest-running rivalry in recent decades, going 30-6 against Chicago since the start of the 2008 season. That includes the 2010 team winning the NFC championship game at Soldier Field en route to capturing the Super Bowl title. The Packers won 11 straight against the Bears before losing last year’s finale at Lambeau Field. Green Bay has won six in a row in Chicago.
Home run
The Bears have won five straight at Soldier Field since a season-opening loss to Minnesota. It’s their best home winning streak since a six-game run in 2005.
Series notes
The Packers are 30-6 against the Bears counting the playoffs since the start of the 2008 season and had won 11 straight in the NFL’s longest-running rivalry before a loss at Lambeau Field in last year’s finale… Green Bay has won six in a row at Soldier Field… This will be the first time the teams meet twice within a 14-day span since 1985… Packers QB Jordan Love has nine touchdown passes and only two interceptions in five career games against the Bears.
Stats and stuff
Chicago and Green Bay can clinch playoff spots with a win, plus a loss or tie by Detroit against Pittsburgh. The Bears and Packers would also get in with a tie if the Lions lose… Green Bay is looking to reach the playoffs for the sixth time in seven years under coach Matt LaFleur, while Chicago is trying to make it for the first time since 2020… The Packers are 4-0 against the NFC North and are one of only two teams unbeaten against their division. The Los Angeles Chargers are 5-0 against the AFC West… LaFleur’s 76 career wins match Paul Brown for the second-highest total by any coach in his first seven NFL seasons. George Seifert holds the record with 86 wins over that stretch… The Packers are 24-12-1 in prime-time games during LaFleur’s tenure… The Packers are 4-0 against NFC North opponents this season. The only other NFL team that’s undefeated in divisional games is the Los Angeles Chargers… Jacobs has 13 touchdown runs, putting him in a tie for second in the league with Detroit’s Jahmyr Gibbs. Indianapolis’ Jonathan Taylor has 16 touchdown runs. Jacobs also had his first touchdown catch of the season Sunday… The Bears won five straight games and nine of 10 before the loss at Lambeau two weeks ago. They moved back into the NFC North lead with the win over Cleveland and Green Bay’s loss to Denver… Chicago has won five in a row at Soldier Field since a season-opening loss to Minnesota. It’s the team’s best home win streak since a six-game run in 2005… The Bears picked off Shedeur Sanders three times last week and extended their league-leading totals in INTs (21), takeaways (30) and turnover differential (plus-20)… Chicago has takeaways in seven straight games, the longest active streak in the NFL… The Bears have five wins after trailing in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter… Williams has a franchise-record five fourth-quarter comeback wins and is tied with Denver’s Bo Nix for the league lead.
