Bears host Packers in rematch with NFC North lead on the line
Green Bay (9-4-1) at Chicago (10-4)
Saturday, 8:20 p.m. EST, Fox.
BetMGM NFL odds: Packers by 1 1/2.
Against the spread: Packers 6-7-1; Bears 8-5-1.
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.
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 12 1/2 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 7 1/2 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.
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.
Fantasy tip
Swift had a big game last week, running for 98 yards and two touchdowns, and will be going against a defense missing one of the NFL’s best players. With 935 yards rushing, Swift also has a chance to reach 1,000 for the second time in his six seasons. He ran for 1,049 yards with Philadelphia in 2023.
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